The Beginning of the End
by Zandrellia
Summary: Innocence always ends forcefully and suddenly. Unfortunately, the world is sometimes too innocent.
1. Day 3

_**The Beginning of the End**_

Obligatory Disclaimer: I clearly do not own any of the characters within (even those who may or may not be originals), any of the settings, concepts, or other potentially copy-written works within this piece. I am merely a vessel; A messenger who conveys a story, nothing more, nothing less.

_If it's natural to kill, how come men have to go into training to learn how? – Joan Baez_

Day 3:

Things could have started out differently. Better, at least, or maybe without the heightened sense of danger, was that really too much to ask? Kagome thought to herself as she brought up a shaking hand to wipe her sweaty face. Her breathing was heavy, quick, and loud and her eyes were wide and tinted with a strange emotion that few ever saw. That emotion was fear, pure and unparalleled fear.

She stood in the darkened room; well it really was more like a hallway. There were pipes running behind her off into the distance and next to her was the door. She just needed a break for a few moments; a chance to catch her breath was all. Her chest rose and fell with her violent inhalations as sweat continued to run along her neck, across her collarbone and finally landing within her already drenched clothing.

Her typical clothes had long been passed up for a better more sensible choice. A sleeveless black tank top and a pair of dark khaki cargo pants that had more pockets than really should be on a single garment – she loved them. Her hair was tied back into a messy pony tail, most of it clinging to her damp face and neck. A head light was strapped to her forehead, beneath it a dark blue sweatband that was entirely soaked. On her hands she had simple black leather gloves and on her feet she had mid-thigh boots, laced tightly with the laces tucked carefully within.

She had a new backpack, made of a sturdier material and packed to the brim with supplies. At her waist was a sheath. In her trembling hands was a glistening sword with a worn looking hilt, she had stolen it from a museum. On the sword was blood… human blood.

Her lips trembled and she took a few more breaths before something moved on the other side of the door. She inhaled sharply and quickly brought the sword up in what she hoped was a defensive stance. Unfortunately she wielded it more like a baseball bat than the weapon of destruction it was and so she was finding it to be somewhat ineffective. Luckily her latent spiritual powers had come to her aid most nights and she'd survived so far.

Her mind raced as she recalled the past two days within the few moments that it took for the light scuffling to become groans and a pushing force against the door.

It started on a Monday. It was just an average day like any other day. It was partially cloudy with a 30% chance of precipitation. It was Golden Week and everyone had time off to relax and party. She had come home for the celebratory vacation and had gone out to a museum with her friends. None of them knew what was happening yet.

First there was screaming. Then people began to run mindlessly. Kagome, having been in dangerous situations before, understood not to follow the crowd so as not to be trampled – her friends were not so lucky. She watched in horror as one of her friends was effectively knocked over and crushed by the screaming crowd. Eventually the room was rather empty save for Kagome and her deceased friend. The place was a disaster, displays having been knocked over and smashed, one of the entrance doors that led out towards the street was broken off its hinges at the top and hung crookedly. Sirens went off outside and people were still screaming. Something in the distance exploded.

Kagome's eyes were wide and her instincts were on fire. She couldn't even manage to voice her curiosity of what exactly had happened. All she could do was realize that she was not actually alone. Something was coming from further inside the museum. Her eyes turned to look towards the hallway as the creature slowly shuffled towards her. She couldn't see down the hall, it was on the opposite side of the room she was on, so she didn't know what was making its way towards her.

Time seemed to slow down as she waited, wondering if it was someone who as injured or an animal, she couldn't tell and was too shocked to move at that point. Slowly, painfully slow, it made its way around the corner and that was when her voice returned in a sharp scream.

Her mind tried to tell her that it wasn't true. This had to be some sort of crazy nightmare, right? She was just overworking herself! A broken little laugh escaped her and she reached up to smack herself as the man slowly made his way towards her. Her eyes widened as she realized that she wasn't waking up and seriously, dream or no dream, she wanted to live!

Trying to stand she found her legs had become jelly and so she backed up, towards the doors and away from the man. He seemed to pick up a little speed as she moved and a small whine escaped her. Still crawling backwards along the floor her hand brushed broken glass but she really couldn't care at that point. The painful edges cut into her hand and she winced a little but kept moving before her hand slipped on an unusually shaped object.

Looking down her eyes twinkled with recognition and she lifted the sword in her hands. It was clearly very old and had been cherished by whoever had owned it before. Silently she said a little prayer both of thanks and of apology and then pulled herself up off the ground with help from the sword. The only sound that came from the room was the sound of the blade clicking as she released it from its confines and pulled it out to face her enemy.

Kagome really didn't know what she was doing. She'd never had to really use a sword before. That is what she had InuYasha for, after all! Inwardly she cried, wishing he was here right now. He wasn't.

The man groaned and reached out for her and she let out a little whimpering cry and then cut the man down. It would be the first and last time that she effectively killed a zombie that day. Today was May 4th and she had managed to make it across the city towards her home where she hoped her family was okay.

Right now she was beneath a local shopping center that was just a few miles from the shrine. She assumed this was some sort of delivery entrance as there were doors running along one side of the hallway, probably leading into the now closed and empty shops.

Her mind was ripped from her memories as the pounding against the door became more forceful and she sighed before turning to look down the somewhat dark hallway behind her. Going out the way she came in was rather impossible now so she only hoped there was another exit.

Reaching up she pushed the little light on her head and it flickered before illuminating the empty path before her. She let out a sigh of relief before making her way down the empty hall, the sound of dripping water and her own breath accompanied by the pounding sound against the door behind her. What a wonderful vacation this was turning out to be.


	2. Day 4

_Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.__ – __Lao Tzu_

Day 4:

Anyone coming across the bone eater's well would wonder if it were haunted. From outside it appeared that the well was, in fact, crying. However, if one were to look inside they would find that it was Kagome.

She was in a crumpled heap; backpack slumped down to the dirt below, sword in hand. Her chest shook with each inhalation and tears welled in her eyes and fell forcefully as she sobbed. It had been horrible.

After making her way home just at twilight she found renewed energy and raced to the front door, only to come to a screeching halt as she realized the door was open. Her breath hitched in her throat and she felt her heart drop into her stomach as she realized there was blood trailing down from the doorknob. No. Not her family. No. No. No.

Running inside she quickly darted from room to room, only to find each one empty and lifeless. There were only a few hints as to what had happened: a broken door, an overturned table, a smashed plate. More blood and bits of what was probably flesh dotted the entryway. Her lower lip quivered and she left the house, going out into the yard to see if, by chance, she was just misinterpreting what had happened. Maybe they had escaped!

The wind blew softly and the protective barrier that was supposed to hold down demon energy shifted in the wind innocently, mocking the world for its naïveté. Walking through the yard showed no signs of life. She paused as she heard a rattle. Her eyes darted around before landing on the protective housing that surrounded the dry well. It was closed. Something was inside.

She took a few slow breaths, gripping her sword tightly before walking slowly across the empty yard towards the well house. Her body began to tremble as she leaned in and quietly spoke: "Hello?"

It was quiet for a few moments and then suddenly whatever was inside sprung to life, pushing against the door fiercely. Kagome jumped back slightly before looking around. Nothing else was present. Perhaps… she knew better, honestly. She knew it wasn't her family, not really. She knew she should have just left the door closed.

Damn her silly hopeful heart.

As the door flew open the woman inside let out a groan and lunged for Kagome. The girl let out a broken cry as she quickly dodged, spinning away and drawing the woman to the right.

Kagome's heart breaking, she was sure, was pretty much audible. Tears welled in her eyes, partially obstructing her vision of the woman who had at one time been her mother. The woman persisted, going towards her, and Kagome backed up some more, darting to the left.

Her former mother stopped for a few moments, seemingly tired, and then turned around slowly to come at her from an odd arc. Kagome backed up, unsure what to really do at this moment, and her body began to shake as her cries became louder.

Suddenly her feet came out from under her and she realized then that she had accidentally made her way into the well house. Quickly she lifted herself from her fall and stood, facing the entrance, only to let out yet another scream at the two bodies beneath the stairs.

Her grandfather sat there, holding her brother, both staring with wide frightened eyes. For a moment they seemed to be alive and Kagome again was full of hope. Then she saw the knife in her brother's chest, her grandfather's hand still holding it firmly. No.

The moaning of her dead mother broke her from the gruesome scene and she backed up as the woman came toppling down the stairs, pushing into Kagome and throwing her into the pit of the well with a scream.

That was where InuYasha found her.

"Kagome?" He asked, scared and confused at why she was not only at the bottom of the well early but was screaming and crying in such pain. She looked terrible, like she hadn't eaten anything of substance, bathed, or slept in days. Sniffing the air lightly his nose scrunched up. She was covered in blood and reeked horribly. "What the heck happened to you?"

He watched as she jumped and looked up at him with terrified eyes. Eyes he hoped he would never have to see again. Her hand came up; trembling and she merely managed to let out a weak sob before her body crumbled to the ground.

Quickly he jumped in and lifted her unconscious body, wondering what was wrong with her and why she had a banged up sword in her hand. His ears twitched as he tried to pry the sword from her grip but she merely clung tighter and her breathing sped up. With a frown and a sigh he sprang from the well, carrying her back to Kaede's house.

She slept fitfully through the morning and when the sun rose high in the sky she sat up suddenly letting out a horrible scream.


	3. Day 7

_A retentive memory may be a good thing, but the ability to forget is the true token of greatness.__ – Elbert Hubbard_

Day 7:

She had been in a daze for the last two days.

InuYasha watched her as she attempted to help a young girl carry food. She was trembling terribly and he had to catch her from nearly dropping the basket twice already. His brow seemed to be permanently fixed in a furrow of confusion and anger. Something had obviously happened to her when she went home but she refused to answer any questions.

It had taken them 10 hours to convince her to let go of the sword. He promised her she could still have it with her whenever he wasn't around but reasoned that there was no cause for her to have it if he was next to her. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with recognition and her pulse slowed a little as she gave up the sword, tears streaming down her ragged face.

She had still kept an eye on it until Sango had suggested that maybe they should bathe. In her usual manner of friendly tact she did not suggest that there was anything wrong with Kagome but instead announced how awful her own body stank and how she really could use a good scrub. Kagome seemed to respond and Sango took it upon herself to draw her into the idea with a light suggestion. "Would you like to join me, Kagome?"

The frightened girl had nodded, almost childishly, and for a few moments everyone saw a hint of the girl they remembered. It was rather heartbreaking. She took the sword with her, since InuYasha was not allowed to join them, and had washed it along with herself. Sango told him later that the look in Kagome's eyes was rather familiar to her. She said it was the look that any warrior gave their most treasured weapon – usually a weapon that had saved their life. In her village such a gaze was rather common.

Today she didn't have it with her and was wearing the traditional miko garb that was lent to her by Kaede. Usually she was just mildly irritated at donning the clothes as they made her appear like Kikyo but this time she had actual valid points as to why she would rather not wear them. They were impractical in dangerous situations. They hindered her ability to run and jump through various obstacles.

That just made him even more bothered. Kagome normally would not be concerned with such things. After all she typically ran around here in that ridiculous school uniform of hers. After they had delivered the food to the young girl's home Kagome turned to him with a small smile, a little lingering ghost of the smiles she used to give so easily. "Thank you, InuYasha."

His face softened a little and he gave a small nod. He wasn't really sure why she was thanking him. Watching her and protecting her was now second nature to him. It was only natural for anyone with an inu bloodline to be that way. As they started off, back the way they came, towards Kaede's small hut he decided he would try to ask again. "Kagome, what happened to you?"

She stopped and visibly stiffened before looking over her shoulder at him with a lonely expression. "InuYasha, I know you won't entirely understand and I am sorry but…" She paused for a moment, licking her suddenly dry lips. "I just want to forget it all."

He didn't understand. She was right about that. Still, he knew better than to push the matter. They began to walk again, both wrapped up in their thoughts.

That night she slept soundly, a few silent tears escaped but she seemed to relax more as she accepted that she was now safe. InuYasha sat there, watching her; he had been getting less sleep these days as he remained highly aware of her inability to relax. He found it impossible to rest when she was laying there, heart racing and screaming out in such terror that it made his stomach flip. Today, however, she had calmed down enough where his instincts had decided it was a good time to catch up on lost sleep.

His eyes slowly drifted closed, the last thing he would see before darkness overcame him would be her peacefully sleeping face.

The little triangular ears atop his head twitched to the side as a piercing scream came from somewhere outside. Instantly he was awake, eyes opening to reveal that he was alone in the room. Outside he could hear familiar voices.

"Get back! Do not let them touch you!" That was the old grandma. Apparently something had come into the village to terrorize it while he was in deep sleep. He let out a low growl of annoyance and stood slowly with a sigh, brushing himself off before taking up Tetsuaiga.

"Run! Run now! I'm going to use the wind tunnel!" It was Miroku. InuYasha's eyes widened a little. Kaede was known to make a situation out to be more dangerous than it was but Miroku rarely exaggerated such things. What was going on out there?

He ran out only to see something he could barely describe. Several of the huts were on fire. Villiagers were screaming and running in every direction. Some of them were moving rather slowly, though. His nose wrinkled. The stench of death lingered in the air.

It was then that he noticed something wrong with the slower villagers. They were not alive. They were dead. More accurately, they were undead. He'd heard stories of such things, of course, but usually they were linked to youkai of some nature. These were different. He frowned as he watched Miroku suck a few of them up into his wind tunnel.

That was when he saw her. Off in the distance, backlit by the burning bonfire of a small hut, wearing the clothes she'd come in. Her hair was loose and it streamed behind her as she screamed out, slashing at them with her trusty sword. Her form was awful but she had something about her that he couldn't quite place. Determination? Whatever it was it was wild, uninhibited, pleading… beautiful. He'd never seen her fight so impatiently.

"InuYasha!" Miroku drew him out of his thoughts and he ducked as one of the undead humans attempted to grasp him. He smiled a bit, fangs peeking out as he gave a little laugh. His knuckles cracked as he brought his hand up and then easily slashed the dead thing down as if it were rice paper.

Turning he gave a grin to Miroku, who smiled back at him in relief. For a few moments they both stood there in boyish victory. Then the undead man reached out and put a hand to InuYasha's leg. His eyes widened and he quickly lifted his leg to shake it, trying to get the stupid thing to let go. With a growl he punched it hard, square in the face, and the sound of a squish mixed with crunching told him that he had crushed the man's skull. It dropped limply away from him and he glared down at it before walking over to Miroku.

"What is going on here?" The monk shook his head.

"I am not really sure. We awoke to the sound of screaming and noticed one of the huts was on fire. Everyone immediately went to start putting out the fire but then one of these undead came out of the hut. It attacked one of the villagers. Eventually they were all attacking one another. It seems to work rather quickly, whatever it is."

They both went silent for a few moments, considering what might be happening. The sounds of screaming along with the fire accompanied their thoughts. InuYasha was ready to give up, he'd never heard of such a thing, but then he noticed something unusual. Turning slowly he glanced over at his friend who seemed to be looking down at the ground in deep thought.

At least, that was how it looked from the outside at first glance. Miroku's heart rate had slowed down significantly and his breathing was labored. InuYasha reached out to place a hand on the monk's shoulder. "Miroku…" He couldn't finish his sentence as the dark haired young man fell forward, trembling. It was unfortunate, of course, that the wind tunnel would be his demise – just not in the way he had expected.

Miroku had been infected.


	4. Day 9

_Pale Death beats equally at the poor man's gate and at the palaces of kings.__ – Horace_

Day 9:

Kagome stood there, looking into the crater that was once the village. InuYasha's screams had drawn her attention from the zombies long enough for her to see what was happening. Miroku was dying, having contracted the illness that was causing this horrible reality after taking in a few zombies. She watched at the usually vibrant monk trembled, face down in the dirt.

"GET AWAY!" He screamed out, it was broken and sounded so animal. It was nothing like Miroku and it caused her to gasp suddenly. They watched in horror as, with the final strands of his sanity, he reached down and uncovered his wind tunnel.

The wind began to whip around him violently, sucking in small nearby objects. InuYasha's eyes widened and he looked across the village to Kagome. She ran, going towards the bone eater's well and he, taking up Kaede and Shippo along the way, followed. When they reached the somewhat safe distance, both somewhat ragged with emotion and exertion, they stopped for a moment.

"Where's Sango?" Kagome said, her voice sharp and her eyes wide in fear. They looked at each other and then back towards the village, knowing already where she was.

Sango jumped off of her trusted friend and told the cat to leave quickly. "Go to Kagome! She needs you right now! Promise me you will take care of her!" She yelled over the howling winds. Kirara didn't fully understand what was happening but she knew better than to disagree when her mistress was behaving this way. With a soft mewl she flew off, leaving the warrior alone to her fate.

"Sango… no… why…?" He said up to her as she came to him, lifting him and turning him in her lap so that he could face her. His coloring was drained, his eyes empty – he could barely even see her, his face covered in sweat. She smiled gently before reaching down to pull his hand up and towards them.

He couldn't hear anything anymore as his blood pounded in his ears. The last thing he would see before he turned was her beautiful face, mouth forming the words: "Because I love you."

Kagome let out a cry as they watched the village disappear in a cloud of smoke. Everything went dark and silent for a few moments before a howling wind brushed past them.

She turned to InuYasha, leaning into him as hot tears welled up and trailed down her face. "Why is this happening?" She whispered to no one in particular.

He held her gently, eyes shining with a deep mixture of emotions. He felt a strong pang of regret laced with respect for his lost friends – they were both so very brave and honorable. Miroku hadn't been able to see himself become one of the undead and Sango hadn't been able to allow him to die alone and terrified. Silently he hoped they had both gone on to a better place.

Now he realized just what had happened to Kagome. His mind wandered over the possibilities. Had her world been overrun by these undead humans? Had her family survived? He supposed that he would never find the right time to ask her now. He couldn't blame her for trying to forget, either.

"What do we do now?" Shippo asked, trying his best to be brave.

"Keep moving." Kagome said it firmly as she reached down for her survival pack, glad she had brought it with her out of habit. "It's not safe to stay in one place for long with those things out there. We need to find shelter."

She started to march off in the opposite direction of where the village was. She suddenly paused, halfway looking over her shoulder with a very blank expression. "InuYasha, carry Kaede for now, please. We can't have anything slow us down."

The old woman and the hanyou both stared at each other before complying with her demands. They weren't sure if they liked this new Kagome but they did know one thing: she was probably right.

In the distance the sounds of animals calling was mixed with the sudden scream of a man. Most of the group stopped to flinch and try to guess where it was coming from. Kagome just kept moving.

Not far from there another group was relaxing in a small grove of trees. Ah-Un sat still while Jaken slept atop of him, drooling all over the place. Leaning against the pack like animal was Rin, snoring gently.

Sesshomaru was not asleep.

Something was wrong. He was standing nearby, listening to the sounds of the forest with a mixture of confusion and concern. It was quiet, too quiet.

For a few moments he just stood there, ears listening intently to the sounds around him. The sound of the wind in the trees, a small brook trickling, the smell of fire, Jaken's babbling, Ah-Un's occasional snort, Rin's light snores… wait. His eyes widened and he turned suddenly to look down at the girl.

Something was more than wrong.

Slowly he crept towards her, watching intently. Perhaps he had just missed something. His eyes hardened at that. He never missed things.

Rin had stopped breathing.

By the time he was a few feet away from her he noticed that she had, in fact, died. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Part of him didn't really care much. It was bound to happen eventually. Part of him wondered if this could be considered a failure on his part. She was just a child and he hadn't exactly told her that he wouldn't take care of her. She was, unfortunately, now his responsibility.

Reaching down he pulled out Tenseiga, waiting for the life giving sword to reveal the little soul stealing demons.

Nothing happened.

The little girl let out a low moan. Sesshomaru's golden eyes widened at this. Suddenly she sprang up and ran towards him, screaming out.

Usually he would have reacted much faster; his instincts were off by just a fraction for some unknown reason to him. He fell back from the shock as the child pounced on him and then… she bit him.

He stared down at her in confusion as her puny little teeth sunk into his shoulder. Reaching up slowly he put his hand to her head petting it lightly. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to console her. She was the one biting him.

Then, his amber eyes shifting between emotions, he reached up and twisted, snapping her neck in one simple motion. She only made a small squeak before her lifeless body fell down into his lap.

Sesshomaru would never admit to anyone that he had, for a few moments, held the child's limp form to his chest as a single tear slid down his face.


	5. Day 12

_Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies. – Mother Teresa_

Day 12:

For a few days they wandered, the disease had spread like crazy. Every village they came upon was practically massacred. The few humans they found that weren't already dead would turn within a few hours after they'd been rescued.

Kagome found herself becoming far too used to this. She didn't like how accustomed she was to the unusual events. Worse, her remorse at death was all but shattered. She couldn't seem to bring herself to feel anything. Life was just too fickle to pin hopes on, it seemed.

They had been traveling hard and it was getting rather humid. Kaede's health was deteriorating and everyone worried that she might have been infected, but so far she hadn't become one of them. Maybe it was just a little flu?

Kagome felt a laugh bubble out of her at that thought but she quickly stifled it when a sudden snap in front of them caused a bird to fly away. She stopped and the others halted behind her. InuYasha was busy glaring at Kagome. She had chosen the perfect place to draw attention of an enemy! Such impeccable timing, too!

The little group was indeed in a rather unfortunate location. The pathway was only about 5 feet wide. To the right was a mountainous cliffside that went right up at an unforgivable angle. To their left was a drop-off of what appeared to be about 500 feet. Behind them the road curved around the mountainside. Ahead of them the dirt path led into the trees.

Trees that obviously had something within them that might just think they are lunch. Or whatever meal it might be at the time. Nobody could remember anymore. InuYasha's stomach growled at that thought and Kagome just rolled her eyes before calling out to whatever was ahead. "Hello? Is someone there?"

A rushing sound seemed to head their way and all at once a huge flock of birds came from the treetops. The flapping of their wings was followed quickly by a rumbling. Bursting from the trees came a raging stampede of wild boar youkai. Their eyes red with rage, some of them had rotting strips of flesh hanging from their snouts.

Tired from their journey many of them had limited reflexes at that point. Kirara was effectively crushed beneath the wave of boar. Kagome had grabbed Shippo and then been knocked off the cliff. InuYasha reacted immediately. "Hang on old lady!" He called to Kaede and then reached out to grab Kagome's hand while gripping onto the edge of the cliff with his other. His face contorted in pain as some of the boar crushed his fingers on their mad rage through the narrow path. Glaring down at Kagome who was dangling above the open ravine he let out an angry growl. "Nice going, Kagome!"

She sighed and glared back but then looked away, ashamed. He was right. That had been a stupid move on her part. She really needed to get her act together! Looking up at him with a softer gaze she had intended to apologize. She never had the chance.

Her eyes widened and she let out a scream as one of the giant boar fell off the edge of the cliff, rolling into them and knocking loose InuYasha's grip. They fell.

The wind whipped around them as they plummeted towards the ground.

It seemed like they had been falling forever.

Shippo had bravely attempted to save them by announcing that he would transform into his glob-like floating form. Unfortunately, he was exhausted and scared and so his attempts failed as he passed out.

Kagome wondered if they were going to make it through this. Ironically, she wasn't even sure if she cared much. Looking up at InuYasha her eyes met with his and they both reached out, attempting to find the other but, as usual, their finger tips never even touched.

The next thing she knew they were meeting the tree tops below. Falling into the canopy roughly, her arms came up instinctively to protect her face. She let out a little squeak as her body smashed into a tree branch and she landed there, broken and sore. Her breathing was slow and shallow, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to try to move.

Behind her she heard something crash through the same tree, it was InuYasha, he let out some annoyed groans and grumbles before he, too, met his match and stopped a few feet below her. She wasn't sure where Shippo was and no one had even seen Kirara since the boars had started their mad dash.

Tears began to well in her eyes as pain started to streak through her body, seeping into her bones. Her head was pounding and she was pretty sure that she was partially deaf now.

That was when she saw her. Kaede fell through the trees to rush past Kagome, their faces met and both women knew in that instant that this would not end well. She was there, that grandmotherly like figure, and then… she was not.

Kagome closed her eyes and began to cry as she heard the hollow, slightly moist thunk as the old woman hit the ground.

It was all her fault.

None of them moved from their landing points that night. Being eaten might actually be a relief after what they'd been through.

She fell asleep, whimpering and crying, allowing the sobs she'd held back to come out but keeping quiet so as not to cause any more problems. Kagome would never make any noise above a silent whisper again.

The next morning she woke, eyes fluttering open to a beautiful sight. The bright, red sun rose in the sky and she watched as it slowly peeked up. Her heart felt light for a few moments, grateful for the peace that watching the sunrise could bring. She realized then that the sun would rise again tomorrow and she desperately wanted to be there to see it.


	6. Day 15

_Forgiveness is the economy of the heart... forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits. – Hannah More_

Day 15:

Kagome moaned as she slowly sat up, wincing from the pain. Sniffling as she rubbed her eyes she leaned back against the trunk of the tree, finally looking at her surroundings. She was probably about 30 feet off the ground. It was a moderately dense forest and there didn't appear to be civilization of any kind for miles.

Looking around slowly, her head hurt too much to move too fast, she noticed that she was in fact alone.

Or at least, that's what she thought.

"InuYasha?" She spoke gently, afraid to say anything louder anymore. No response.

With a sigh she closed her eyes for a few moments, trying to ignore the searing pain that ran through her. Her chest ached, her legs burned, her head throbbed, and her eyes stung… everything hurt.

She heard a rustling from below and slowly glanced down only to gasp as her eyes widened in shock. There, to her left, was InuYasha. Behind him was a fresh mound that he'd obviously made for Kaede. As much as he tried to feign indifference he had really cared for the old woman. In his arms… was the reason why.

"Kikyo." Kagome's voice came out softly and she winced from the burning pain in her throat. She hadn't eaten or drank anything in a while.

Unable to move she merely stayed there, watching the scene unfold before her. Kikyo was leaning into InuYasha, who was holding her as if she were life itself. Neither one was crying. Neither one spoke. They merely held one another.

Absently Kagome wondered how it was that Kikyo hadn't been infected yet. A small smile crossed her lips as she realized just how silly that idea was. The powerful priestess couldn't become infected. She was already undead!

Time seemed to last forever and Kagome found that she couldn't bring herself to stop them. After all, even though she didn't particularly like Kikyo didn't mean she wished terrible things on her and Kaede had been her little sister. She knew how she felt in that moment, having recently lost her own family. It was such an empty feeling, knowing that you were all that was left.

Besides, Kagome wasn't stupid. She knew that InuYasha would never be able to fully love her like that. It wasn't his fault; of course, it was just natural for him. She wondered if it was simply impossible to expect any creature that had dog instincts to really be fully in love with another. After all, his father was a rather powerful being and still fell in love with another. It clearly wasn't a matter of weakness.

Looking down on the scene once more she felt her stomach churn as the two gently kissed.

Okay, she took that back, maybe it _was_ weakness.

Then, despite her presence, despite not knowing where Shippo was, she watched as InuYasha walked away, as if in some trance. Hand-in-hand with Kikyo, off into the woods.

She wanted to scream out. She wanted to cry and yell at him and call him names. She wanted to throw something. She wanted… she wanted… someone to care.

Opening her mouth she tried to shout out his name but all that managed to come out was a strangled squeak. Her throat was far too dry and her spirit too broken for her to deal with this.

For once, Kagome gave up.

She wasn't sure if it was days or hours that passed before she heard movement again.

The rustling in the trees caused her eyes to pop open and she turned slowly to look in the direction of the sound. She had no weapon. She had no defenses whatsoever. Inwardly she prepared herself for the worst, bracing for her inevitable demise.

Her heart raced as whatever it was moved closer. Closer… it was getting louder now.

And then suddenly out of some low bushes popped Shippo, looking slightly banged up but in fair condition.

Kagome felt her heart lurch and she smiled gently before passing out from complete and utter depletion. Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe it wouldn't. At least she would have one friend there for her.

Shippo jumped up the tree nimbly, landing beside Kagome before darting all around her, sniffing, poking and prodding. He stopped then in her lap, looking at her sleeping face before curling up in her lap, eyes wide and body shivering.

He had already lost his family long ago. The idea of losing Kagome, too, was far too much for the little fox to bear. Instead of sleeping, however, he remained awake, dutifully taking on the responsibility to guard his mother-like-friend.

He'd felt guilty for not being strong enough to save her from the fall. Looking around he wondered where InuYasha had gone. Wasn't it his job to protect her? What was wrong with that dummy? He really didn't get it! Kagome loved him so much! Shippo secretly thought that InuYasha was really lucky. He'd never really been alone – someone always loved him.

Feeling tears begin to well up in his eyes he sat up and pouted as his cheeks puffed up. Reaching up he smacked himself lightly over the head. Men didn't cry!

During his own mental punishment he somehow had missed the sounds and scents of something heading their way; something very powerful and angry.


	7. Day 16

_The value of experience is not in seeing much, but in seeing wisely.__ – __William Osler _

Day 16:

He'd been wandering for days now. A week had passed since that fateful day.

He wasn't even sure why he still kept thinking about it.

They'd left her lying there, broken and empty, without any fanfare. Sesshomaru really didn't understand burial rituals. He would much rather her corpse be left to the elements where it would rot away quickly and would become one with the ground below again. That was how it should be, right?

He was pretty sure Rin wouldn't have held it against him. Who cared what the human child thought, anyway? He was never wrong and that was what he'd decided to do. She would just have to get over it.

After they left her he found himself just walking aimlessly. He hadn't even slept a full night since then.

It wasn't like he missed her or anything. He was just bored.

Soon, however, his boredom would be relieved as the disgusting odor of his half-brother came to him on the wind. His eyes hardened for a moment and then he decided he would go bother InuYasha for a few moments. It's not like he had anything better to do.

When he entered the area where the hanyou's scent was strongest he realized with a modicum of annoyance and regret that the boy was not actually there anymore. Great, what would he do now? His eyes surveyed the scene noting the mound on the ground that stank of death and then picking up two other smells.

His gaze traveled upward and was met with two very large, shaking emerald eyes.

Shippo wasn't really sure how to react. He didn't really think that the powerful youkai below would harm them – there wasn't much reason to. Sesshomaru, if anything, seemed to be rather logical.

Of course, that was just how others saw him as because that was what he _allowed_. Few knew that Sesshomaru was actually somewhat impulsive. The few times he was most people brushed it off without even considering it.

Like the time he resurrected Rin, or how he allowed her to follow him, or how he seemed to _never_ kill InuYasha despite being quite capable. Yes, Sesshomaru had a major flaw just as any creature does – his was being randomly motivated.

This was one of those times.

In the matter of a few minutes Sesshomaru surmised what had occurred. They had fallen, evidenced by the broken tree branches and banged up state of the human woman. Someone who was of no concern had died. InuYasha had been there and had left for some unknown reason.

Suddenly he sprang up, landing gracefully before the sleeping woman and causing the young kitsune to give out a little yelp of surprise. She moaned lightly and stirred, waking slowly. He observed her, contemplating if he was going to be generous or not today.

He still wasn't sure how he felt so making such decisions was somewhat complicated.

Kagome opened her eyes to see him staring at her and while her expression showed a few moments of shock and fear her pulse did not increase and she did not scream. Instead she swallowed painfully and then bowed as best she could in her condition. "Sesshomaru."

Shippo clung to Kagome, unsure what would happen to them. He couldn't exactly protect her from someone like this! He hoped that they would get lucky and he would just leave them alone.

Luck, apparently, was not on their side.

Sesshomaru had decided he would be generous and allow the woman to live. In exchange, she would entertain him and perhaps even answer a few questions as to what was going on. He didn't know her very well but from what he could gather she seemed moderately educated. Perhaps she would be able to give him the answers he was looking for.

She broke the connection between their gazes just as it became uncomfortable, looking down to see Jaken and Ah-Un who appeared to be somewhat solemn. Her brow furrowed lightly and she looked back to Sesshomaru. "Where is Rin?"

He didn't have to say anything. The moment the words slipped from her mouth she saw how his eyes flashed and his lips twitched. She knew then what had happened to the poor child and she looked down sadly, clutching Shippo for comfort. Empty silence filled the area for a few lingering moments before she looked back up at him, his expression having gone back to its usual empty façade. "I'm sorry."

Normally he would have said something to that. Why did he need her pity? What would he care for a human's sympathy? Besides, he didn't really care that much, right? He didn't say anything.

She inhaled sharply as he suddenly reached forward, lifting her body effortlessly and sending new waves of pain through her. Wincing and forcing her eyes closed she decided it would be best to just suck it up. He was being very kind to her, even if it was terribly painful.

He placed her onto Ah-Un, dare she say it … gently? Before turning away and continuing into the woods. As they passed the mound she said a little prayer for Kaede and promised that she would not give up.

This group was remarkably different from their usual group. They were silent and merely followed Sesshomaru who seemed to have no real direction.

Kagome licked her lips nervously and was about to say something when he spoke, surprising everyone. "Do you know what is happening, woman?"

She didn't appreciate his tone but let it slide; understanding that now was not the time. Her mind considered what she did know. "It seems to be a virus of some kind." She said finally.

He stopped, causing everyone else to halt and sending a jarring pain through her body. He did not say anything, nor did he turn around, he merely stood there waiting. It took her a few moments to realize that he was waiting for her to tell him what a virus was. Of course! Sesshomaru wouldn't know what a virus was! Idiot!

She tried to remember what little she'd learned in school as far as viruses went. "A virus is an infectious disease of sorts. There are different kinds and they can cause different symptoms, depending on the virus. They reproduce inside cells. Cells are what make up living things." She took a few moments to try to remember more information and he turned slightly, not really looking at her.

"How do these… virus… spread?"

"They can spread many ways. Some spread through the air, others through water, some spread through bug bites." She sighed and looked down. "There is no escaping them."

His tone didn't change when he spoke but he was clearly concerned. "These virus infect everything?"

She frowned and considered it. "I'm not sure. Different viruses can infect different creatures. I would say that this virus attacks mostly humans but I haven't been infected yet. Perhaps you have to be bitten or injured in some way to become infected." Her mind was considering all she had seen.

So far everyone that she had seen that was infected seemed to be injured in some way or ingest the virus somehow. His voice broke her thoughts. He said the four little words so silently that she almost missed them.

"Rin was not injured."

Then, before she even realized what was happening, he was disrobing in front of her! She squeaked but then noticed he was merely exposing his shoulder. On his shoulder was a leaf which seemed to have some ground up berries of some sort underneath. He lifted it to show her the tiny little teeth marks that could only have belonged to a young human.

She suddenly understood what had happened. Rin had been infected. Rin had attacked him. He had allowed Rin to bite him. Worse, his wound hadn't healed yet. "Sesshomaru, how long have you had that wound?"

He proceeded to cover his wound again and then, after he was finally clothed again, answered her. "This will be the eighth day."


	8. Day 18

_Mixed feelings, like mixed drinks, are a confusion to the soul.__ – __George Carman _

Day 18:

His head felt heavy. With a groan he reached up, rubbing at his eyes in an attempt to relieve the pounding within. A voice broke the silence.

"You are awake."

His hand went still and his breath caught deep in this chest, unable to continue. He knew that voice. Slowly he opened his eyes to see her, looking down on him with her usual expression. That empty and sad expression. "Kikyo…" He couldn't voice any more than that for a few long moments. "What are you doing here?"

A small smile crept onto her face in response to his child-like questioning before her expression turned serious and she looked away from him. "There is a great evil that has come to this land. I have come to you because I need your help."

His eyes widened at that. She needed his help? That was unusual. Kikyo was rarely fragile – or at least, she rarely displayed such behavior to the rest of the world. Still, if she was willing to ask for his help who was he to deny her? Even though he often hated her he also loved her with a burning passion that he still couldn't explain. "What do you need my help with?"

Her jaw locked a little and her eyes became firm pools of anger. "We must collect the remaining jewel shards; immediately."

InuYasha's brow furrowed and he sat up suddenly, his hands going onto his knees as he looked around suddenly. "I wasn't plannin' on stopping! Kagome and…" He paused, mid-sentence, realizing that the young girl wasn't here. He looked at Kikyo, eyes wide and anger slowly forming on his face. "Where is Kagome?"

"I assume where we left her. She was in no condition to travel and needed more rest. She is capable of finding the jewel, that is true, but she is slow and incompetent in battle. We do not have any more time to waste. This situation is greater than the one before. The jewel must be completed in order to eliminate this new threat. Naraku is no longer the enemy."

He looked at her with confusion and disbelief. Did she just seriously say that Naraku was no longer the enemy? With a scowl he looked away from her. He didn't understand what the heck was going on. "I'm not going to just leave Kagome all alone in the woods! Not when she's all banged up and injured!" He said defiantly, crossing his arms.

Kikyo's expression seemed hurt for a few moments before she silently stood and turned back the way they'd come. "We should get moving, then." She knew that if she expected his help then she would have to cooperate with any and all of his childish demands, even if she didn't agree.

With a grin he stood and ran after her, falling into an easy walk behind her as he placed his hands behind his head. He'd won and he knew it.

Unfortunately, it would be all he'd win that day. By the time they arrived at the clearing which had Kaede's burial mound there was only Kagome's lingering scent to show that she had even been there. InuYasha frowned and sniffed the air, the trees, the ground, trying to figure out where the stupid girl had gone. He paused suddenly and his eyes widened in surprise and concern. Sesshomaru had been here.

Following the trail that Kagome's fragrance left he felt a stab in his heart. She had left with his elder brother. He wondered where they were now and if Kikyo would accept going after them.

They had traveled for some distance, finding and picking up Kagome's things that morning.

Stopping in a small clearing for the night she did a quick inspection of her things. Fortunately only a few of the supplies had fallen out of the pack, mostly food.

She noticed Sesshomaru's curious gaze when he saw her pick up the sword. As she began to remove it from the sheath his hand came over hers in a firm grip. She looked up at him in confusion and he stood there for a few moments, apparently mentally deciding what he should do next.

Wordlessly he stepped around her and then brought his arm around her again, pulling her close so that she could feel the movement of his body. Reaching down he once again placed his hand on hers, fingers intertwining with hers around the hilt.

Her heart was racing. She wasn't really interested in him. She was still very much in love with InuYasha. So why did she feel like the ground was about to swallow her whole? Her lip trembled and her eyes fluttered closed as he suddenly went into motion.

She could hear his steady breathing right above her ear. Feel his heartbeat that seemed to be keeping time to music only he could hear. Music he was inviting her to experience.

Soon she found that her breathing was matching his as he guided her motions. All he did at first was withdraw the sword and return it, over and over again. The cobweb like feeling in her mind was beginning to clear and she suddenly realized what he was truly trying to do. He was training her.

She swallowed hard and, eyes still closed, allowed herself to sense the movements. This muscle moves, that one doesn't, don't pull so fast… it was like she could hear his thoughts.

When he was satisfied that she'd learned how to remove the sword without damaging it he moved on to the next step. She squeaked a little as he pulled her even closer, releasing her hand for a few moments in order to grip her at the waist and pull her closer. His hand came back to hers, pulling tightly against the sword and then… they were dancing.

It was all she could describe it as.

Minutes turned into hours and eventually she found herself sweating profusely both from the exertion of the movements and from his close proximity. Then, just as suddenly as he'd started, he let her go.

She tumbled forward, falling to the ground. Looking up at him through the curtain of her hair she had only one question. "Why?"

He wasn't looking at her, still looking entirely unfazed. "This Sesshomaru cannot stand by and watch a sword be treated as such."

Her eyes widened. It wasn't for her. It was for the sword? She wasn't sure why but she felt a little angry and even a bit jealous at that. Standing she sighed. "I wouldn't have to use this if InuYasha were still here. He'd have protected me." She said in an attempt to jab at his pride.

She was met with silence for a good while before she turned suddenly to stare at him, eyes lit up in anger. Her mood was suddenly jarred when he seemed to smile ever so slightly.

"This Sesshomaru fails to see how that is relevant."

Kagome felt rage swell in the pit of her stomach. Of course he wouldn't see it as _his_ problem. He was just a bored jerk who liked to keep humans around as playthings from time to time! With a huff she crossed her arms and turned away from him, tapping her foot angrily and staring up at the tree tops as if they were her worst enemy.

Shippo had watched the whole thing from atop Ah-Un. Jaken, thankfully, was already asleep.

The little kitsune frowned slightly and looked between the young girl and the inu. He didn't get why Kagome was acting that way. It really wasn't Sesshomaru's problem that InuYasha had left her. It wasn't even close to his fault. Still, he also was a bit confused by the powerful youkai's responses. If he didn't know any better he would say that Sesshomaru was actually teasing her!

Although, he had to admit, it was kind of nice to have Kagome back in her usual spirits. He absently wondered if Sesshomaru had used some sort of magic on her. He would have to learn that trick.

He let out a yawn and then curled up, secure in the notion that Sesshomaru was far too proud to let them come to harm while they were in his entourage.

After her anger had subsided some Kagome turned to see that most of the group was asleep. Sesshomaru had started a fire sometime in the time it had taken her to calm down. He was sitting on the opposite side, staring into the flames. She sat across from him for a while, watching the emotions flicker in his eyes. Or maybe it was just the fire light.

Taking a slow breath she smiled and turned to go through her pack, looking through and finding the few food items. Most of them she was pretty sure he would not eat. A few packages of crisps, some candy bars, and dried fruit… none of it seemed to have much substance either. Her eyes fell on the final two packages. Ramen.

With a sigh she set up her pot, pouring some of the water into it and setting it near the fire to boil. She had hoped to share the last of this with InuYasha. It was his favorite, after all.

She brought her knees up and hugged them, resting her head against them as she watched the water and waited. It had been hard to ignore the fact that InuYasha had left her behind like that. Still, it wasn't that unusual. Kikyo had many strange abilities and it was often left to Kagome to break the hanyou from her spell. Of course, Kagome had been too weak to do anything. She only hoped he was okay.


	9. Day 19

_Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.__ – __Mark Twain _

Day 19:

They remained in the small clearing, Kagome now being trained by a sadistic drill instructor of a youkai. Sesshomaru kept his face with a bored expression but Kagome noticed that his eyes were very vocal and spoke loudly at his amusement. He enjoyed making her suffer. She growled out in frustration at that and took another jab at her invisible enemy.

"You are dead."

She could feel her anger mounting and was pretty sure her blood pressure was through the roof by now. He had been saying that same phrase repeatedly since she started practicing. Only a few times did he ever not say anything or make a sound of approval. Eventually she learned that him not saying anything meant she was doing okay and a sound of approval meant she'd mastered the move.

Part of her was still surprised that he'd bothered to say anything at all. She'd decided that since they weren't going anywhere – why she had yet to know, secretly she assumed there wasn't actually a reason – that she would practice the steps he'd shown her last night. Out of nowhere he said that stupid sentence… the same one he was going to probably say right now!

"You are dead."

She stopped, arms lowering and she stomped up and down on the ground for a few moments in a childish tantrum. She had hoped she would trick fate somehow but her luck just wasn't that good. Either that or sarcasm was just lost on the fates.

Kagome was right about one thing, though. There was no reason as to why they had stopped there. Sesshomaru saw no reason to continue moving until he could figure out what was happening and if it was worth his time to deal with it. Until then he didn't feel like dealing with a bunch of undead humans.

His mind had been considering what the female had told him about these virus. They sounded stealthy and it seemed that he would be unable to sense them as they had no scent, no heart beat, and no youki. From what she'd said everyone she'd come in contact with, save for those with youkai blood and the miko who was buried in the mound, had become infected or died as a result of those who were.

They were pretty sure that it attacked humans without any real consideration for their health, gender, or location so both had agreed that it was likely either what she called an airborne virus or one that was transferred through water. Still, to him it just seemed to happen rather suddenly.

Looking to the strange girl with her odd supplies and her unusual demeanor he wondered if there was more to the story than she'd given. She dressed oddly and often indecently. She wore unusual textures, colors, and had odd fragrances about her that were unnatural. Many of the tools she used were strange to him.

Just last night she'd offered him some sort of noodles that, while rather flavorful, seemed to be lacking in freshness. He had wondered how she had managed to keep the food from going stale if it had clearly passed the point of consumption.

Then she'd motioned to put some sort of healing substance she called "hydrogen peroxide" on his wound along with an odd square bandage that had a horrible smell. He refused at first and was mildly amused at how hurt and angry she was by his refusal. Then she became very depressing and said how she owed him for teaching her how to use the sword and how she didn't want him to die.

Of course he wouldn't die. She was just an over emotional human female who had no sense. Still, she _did_ owe him and so he allowed her to clean her wound and bandage it. It had stung slightly and it smelled odd but it didn't ache like it had.

He decided he'd had enough of her secrets. If she couldn't tell him the truth about who she was and where she was from he would simply leave her here to die.

"Girl." She stopped with a sigh of annoyance and turned to look at him pointedly. "You are not telling this Sesshomaru something. This Sesshomaru does not appreciate liars."

He watched as her eyes widened slightly before she looked down to the ground, shoulders slumping. Her voice came out slightly shaking but not with fear. She seemed somewhat ashamed of her actions and a bit unsure of how to tell him what she said next. "You're right. I haven't told you everything."

Silence hung between them, seemingly building in an electric intensity.

"I don't really know where to start or how to explain it all to you." She said meekly and he fought the urge to sigh at her stupidity.

"This Sesshomaru expects you to start from the beginning."

She looked up at him then with a small smile and then sat across from him before taking a deep breath and beginning her story. Shippo came up to her, crawling into her lap. He knew much of what she said but not everything. Kagome's story was very fascinating.

The minutes went by as she explained everything. How she was born in another time period. How she had been born as Kikyo's reincarnation and thus had the Shikon Jewel within her. How she'd fallen into the well in her time and had been taken to the current time. How she'd freed InuYasha and how he'd begrudgingly agreed to work with her. How she'd returned home for a visit only to have these undead humans come from seemingly nowhere and how she'd managed to make her way across her home village only to find her family dead.

When she reached the par t where she explained that the virus seemed to have spread from her time to the present time a few days after she'd returned his eyes tightened and he looked at her with a strange expression. She stopped then, wondering what part had confused him. He hadn't said anything the entire time, just sat there listening with that usual bored expression of his.

He was, in fact, logically deducting that she had no reason to lie to him, despite how outlandish her story seemed. Additionally, he felt that the strange objects she had and her odd behavior did in fact confirm her story. The part he had issue with was the fact that she'd left her time and come here… and then a few days later the virus had spread out from there.

His mind was working thoroughly through all the information he had and there was only one answer he could come to. "This is entirely your doing."

Kagome gasped and her eyes went wide. She felt her anger rising as he easily accused her and she was ready to start yelling at him that this was not her doing at all! She would never get the opportunity, however, as InuYasha and Kikyo came into the little clearing – both with expressions that gave away the fact that they had heard everything.


	10. Day 20

_Any mind that is capable of real sorrow is capable of good.__ – __Harriet Beecher Stowe _

Day 20:

Kagome was ready to turn her anger on InuYasha in that moment. How dare he abandon her? But then a little hand on hers caused her to look down in trembling emerald eyes. "It's not true, is it?" Shippo asked full of grief.

In that moment her emotions melted and she leaned into the little fox, clutching him tightly. Her mind raced through everything that had happened. Had it all been her fault? How could that be possible? If she were some sort of carrier she would have noticed these sorts of events earlier, wouldn't she?

Images danced in front of her. The museum on a peaceful day, the first zombie she'd seen coming for her, the sword… her eyes widened. The sword! Looking down towards the offending object, lying peacefully in its sheath she considered the possibilities.

She'd slashed into countless zombies on her way to the shrine. She fell into the well and then, after a few days she washed the sword in the bathing area. Tears swelled in her eyes as she considered how fast things had moved since that point. Likely, a few people were infected in the village from the virus lingering on the blood that coated her sword but… when she placed it in the water, the peaceful water that flowed downstream and into hundreds of other villages.

Her lip trembled as she gasped for air, the tears streaming down her face. It really was all her fault!

There was no way that the virus could have come about on its own in both the past and the future. If it had come around in the past… she wouldn't have been here. She was the only linking factor between the two time periods.

Shippo clung to her, his worry growing. "Kagome?" He asked brokenly. She was supposed to jump up and announce that she hadn't done anything wrong, right? Right…?

She finally spoke, her voice cracking as she shook with her realization. "It is my fault."

Sesshomaru remained unchanged, not surprised when she admitted her guilt. He had, after all, come to that conclusion just moments before. It was the only logical answer, even if he did not understand the full reason behind it.

Kikyo lowered her gaze, a small sad smile coming to her face. She was unsure if she should feel sorry for the girl but she was, in a twisted way, happy. She knew what was coming.

Sure enough, InuYasha just stood there for a few moments, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Kagome had just admitted that this crazy mess was her fault! He wanted to go to her. He wanted to hold her and tell her that he forgave her. Except, he couldn't.

He couldn't forgive her.

If this was really her doing then she had not only kill countless humans but had caused a series of events that led to two of their very good friend's deaths as well as the death of Kaede. He might not have cared a whole lot about the old lady but she was still Kikyo's little sister and a good woman who had never treated him badly. He certainly hadn't wished her to die so pathetically.

Miroku had been his first real male companion. Someone who trusted him, confided in him, listened to him, and assisted him in any way he could. He had been the first man InuYasha could truly rely on to do exactly what he said he would. He had been a powerful monk and had survived quite a bit of turmoil… only to die uselessly, not even able to kill Naraku!

Sango had not been very close to him but they held a mutual respect, one warrior to another. They understood where the other was coming from. She had died a shameful death of a woman in love – not the death of a warrior like she should have!

All of it was Kagome's fault.

His mind tried to wrap around that. How could he forgive her for what she'd done?

Locking his jaw he let out an angry growl before turning and punching a poor, defenseless tree. The leaves shook off and fell all around him as he turned to her, anger burning in his eyes.

He could forgive a lot of stupid things. He could forgive the subjugation beads. He could forgive her constant clinging nature or the fact that she pretended to be weak so that he would come rescue her. He could forgive her laziness at not attempting to improve her powerful spiritual abilities. He could even forgive her if she said she no longer loved him – it wasn't as if he deserved it. He couldn't, however, forgive her for this.

Turning in a huff he started to storm off and Kagome looked up with a startled expression before crying out in anger. "Where are you going?" Was he really abandoning her again?

InuYasha stopped, back going stiff, he turned and she noticed that his expression was similar to when they'd first met. He grinned and shrugged. "Off to get the shards, of course. What else would I be doing?" He turned away then, walking off, Kikyo following after without uttering a word.

Kagome sat there, still clutching Shippo, staring after him for a few moments before standing, dropping the poor kitsune, and running after him. She ran as far as she could, her body still worn and tired from training and the fall, and finally stopped to lean against a tree.

She pushed forward, hair flying about her as her tears flew from her face like glistening rain drops. "InuYasha! If you abandon me again I'll never forgive you!"

He kept walking.

Sliding down the tree she let her emotions take over and sobbed loudly. She couldn't understand. Didn't he love her? Why was he treating her like this? It wasn't like she'd planned this!

A hand on her shoulder caused her to jump, startled. She looked up, tears still streaming down her face and chest heaving. There stood Sesshomaru, an oddly gentle expression on his face – or maybe she just imagined it that way. Either way, the words he spoke next both hurt her and healed her.

"He is not worth your emotions."


	11. Day 21

_A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.__ – __Leo Buscaglia_

Day 21:

Sesshomaru had been angry with his half-brother. Not as if that was a new feeling for him. He'd often been very upset with the idiot. This time, however, he felt that the hanyou had taken things too far.

Not only had he left the human woman and kitsune in his care but, he had to admit, he had been very brutal towards the girl. While the odd turn of events was directly linked to her, Sesshomaru was not stupid and realized that the girl had no actual hand in things.

True, he could understand some of where InuYasha was coming from, loathe he might be to admit it. After all, for a few moments he had been angry with the woman, too. She had caused Rin's death, even if it was inadvertently.

Still, he knew better than to allow his emotions to get the best of him. Besides, if the girl was truly part of the problem then it was only right that she be part of the solution.

He considered what his brother had said. Going after the jewel shards sounded pointless for a few moments until he considered the possibilities. Sesshomaru himself had no interest in the bauble; the little trinket could never grant him what he could not obtain himself. Or could it?

The situation had clearly changed and he was at a loss of how to solve the dilemma of this virus. Perhaps the Shikon Jewel would be the best solution. It would also give the sobbing woman a chance at redemption.

He was getting bored of her crying quickly. Standing, he went over to her and watched her for a few moments, unsure why she was behaving so. Sesshomaru understood trust, loyalty, loss, and maybe even friendship… he did not understand love.

So, of course, he considered what would be the best thing to say to her in that moment. What would be the best way to get her to shut up so they could get to business? He thought back to Rin and how she would have preferred to be treated in such a situation. Of course, that would be the best way. What was that emotion called again?

Oh, right… kindness.

He placed his hand on her shoulder and watched as she turned to him, still heavily shaken by his brother's abandonment. For a few moments he considered her, not sure how best to display this kindness he was supposed to be giving her. It was when their eyes met, however, that he felt something – an odd twinge in his chest.

Maybe he had indigestion.

The truth was, in that moment he recalled the last time he had felt such loss. When his father had passed away, throwing his life away for that idiot woman and abandoning his mother… and him. His face relaxed a little as, for a few seconds, he truly felt sorry for her. The words that would leave his mouth would be from a mixture of emotions that he'd locked away for so long, almost long enough to forget them.

"He is not worth your emotions."

Surprisingly it worked. Tears still flowed down her face, her breathing was still labored, and she still let out the occasional sob but she was taking in what he said. After regaining her composure she stood and gave a small bow to him. "Thank you."

When she looked up at him then they both knew that was the beginning of their tentative friendship.

That night they discussed what they would do.

He explained his theory about the jewel shards and how, with his help, she would have more in her possession much faster anyway. She flinched slightly at his implications but nodded in agreement. There was no point in disagreeing about facts, after all.

They made a plan and he explained how their original idea of gathering shards from lesser demons first was rather redundant as that would give Naraku a greater chance of stealing their earnings from them and becoming more powerful. Instead, he suggested they perform a preemptive strike of sorts and go for Naraku first, taking him out and then taking out smaller demons along the way.

"What about the jewel shards that InuYasha and Kikyo find?"

Sesshomaru did not seem concerned, he never seemed concerned. "We will take them."

She took in a sharp breath but considered the options. If they did not then what would InuYasha do? There was no telling what he might wish for if he were given the chance. He was too brash and impulsive to be given such a heavy task. Kikyo might have the best intentions in mind but might not go about it the right way. The best thing for them to do would be to work together, gather the jewel shards, and then she would make her wish to fix this whole mess.

Her mess, she thought with a sigh.

Sesshomaru let out a low growl and she looked up at him, wondering what was wrong. When he spoke he betrayed no emotion, of course, but she was already beginning to understand some of his mannerisms. "Girl, stop judging yourself so harshly. This Sesshomaru has forgiven you."

Her eyes widened as she took in what he said. A small smile crept onto her face and she gave a little laugh. The way he said it implied that she would receive no higher honor than his forgiveness. Looking down at her hands in her lap she fidgeted a little before coming to the conclusion that the idea was probably true.

A snapped twig caught their attention and she watched as Sesshomaru stood, hand clenching. She heard his knuckles pop lightly as he stared out into the forest.

Suddenly a young woman burst through the tree line and into the clearing. She was, of course, undead and was charging at Sesshomaru with great intensity. Kagome, still sitting, was unsure what to do. She didn't think it would be a good idea to get in the way and cause Sesshomaru to become distracted by her presence.

She was so intently watching that she didn't notice when an infected man came out of the trees behind her. Luckily, Shippo did and he pointed, screaming out. "Kagome, look out!"

Turning to see the man her eyes widened. These zombies seemed to move much faster than their modern day counterparts. Within moments he was lunging for her and she shrieked, jumping up and running towards Sesshomaru.

He, for the most part, had already dealt with his problem as the steaming pile of corpse pieces below was evidence of. When Kagome screamed he turned to see her running towards her and he stood there, same old bland expression on his face, as she finally ran up to him.

She was breathing heavily and pointed back towards the undead man. "There's another one over there!"

Sesshomaru looked towards the undead man and then back towards her. "Why have you not dealt with it?"

Her eyes widened as she took in what he said. Her mind raced over the past few days. He was right. She had really been acting like a spoiled child. She'd survived dealing with the zombies in her own time, why couldn't she deal with them here?

Turning she glanced over the situation and decided what her best course of action would be. She ran back towards the undead man, darting past him before he could grab her, and then reached down to take up her sword. Her momentum was pretty strong by this point so she simply slid to a stop, pulling the sword out.

The moment the sword came out and into her hands she felt a certain strength flow into her and she turned, this time holding the weapon with an appropriate offensive stance, and charged.

Sesshomaru was slightly impressed. She'd improved greatly. He had done a wonderful job.

After Kagome had hacked the poor man's brains out Sesshomaru did have to stop her. She seemed to be an emotional roller coaster, probably from the effects of battle. He'd seen it plenty of times on young warrior's faces. If they didn't learn to control their emotions they would soon lose the battle, regardless of who won. Apparently her next lesson would be on self control. He couldn't exactly travel with her if she was going to act like that all the time.

Giving her a nod of approval he turned then and began to walk off, Kagome following along with the others. They wandered for a few more hours before stopping to rest.

That night she slept peacefully, for the first time in many nights, secure in the knowledge that she was with someone who was powerful enough to protect her but would expect her to protect herself.


	12. Day 25

_People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing. – Dale Carnegie_

Day 25:

They had traveled for what seemed like forever. Sesshomaru wasn't as kind as he'd been the past few days and had slowly turned colder as each day went by. Kagome assumed that he was only being so nice because he was still in shock from Rin's death.

The truth was that he just didn't know what to think about the situation and so the best solution he could come up with was to ignore it entirely. It had been working well so far.

Neither of them asked much of the other. They killed undead and youkai alike in their hunt for Naraku. Every night she'd settle down to eat some of her odd food. He would let her rest and then they would pack up and leave, continuing on their quest.

This day, however, was slightly different.

Kagome's nose scrunched and she sighed heavily, leaning down to check to see if she was indeed smelling what she thought she was. Sure enough – she stank.

She followed him for a while trying her best to hide her frustration but the more she attempted to pretend that everything was okay the more agitated she became. Finally, after she let out a high pitched squeal at her own scent he stopped abruptly.

She nearly ran into him because she was too focused on her own problems to notice that he'd stopped. He turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow at her curiously. "This Sesshomaru sees no reason for you to be making such sounds."

Her eyes widened slightly before she realized that she'd actually hurt his delicate hearing. "I'm sorry. I just feel so gross and smell so bad!"

His expression didn't change much but he seemed to contemplate what she was saying. He found it unusual that she cared. Humans were rather uncivilized and often didn't bathe for weeks on end. It was odd to him that she would be so concerned when it had only been a few days. Still, she was right, she did stink.

He turned away from her then, walking on and she let out a sigh before following. Of course he wouldn't do anything about it! It wasn't his problem, right? Well, okay, it wasn't but still… couldn't he at least help her out?

She realized that was asking a lot of him and just bit her lip, following in silence. They walked for a few miles more before he suddenly made a left turn. Kagome could feel her annoyance mounting. Where the heck were they going now? Weren't they supposed to be heading directly north? That had been the plan, after all!

40 minutes more of walking and she was torn between being angry and being too smelly, tired and hungry to care when they finally stopped. She'd been too busy glaring daggers into his back to notice and this time actually did bump into him.

His back stiffened and a warning growl came from him but he did nothing else and she took the hint for what it was. Backing up she let out an audible sigh, wondering what the heck they had stopped for. Looking around him gave her a view of a lovely crystal clear pond and her eyes widened.

Kagome felt her face become warm as the blood rushed up and she let out a small squeal before darting around him and towards the pond. She stopped, mid-stride, and turned to give a large bow. "Thank you!" She practically sang the words as a wide grin spread across her face.

Turning again she ran over towards the pond, quickly pulling her boots off and throwing her backpack to the ground along with them. She began to peel her pants off but then paused, eyes going wide as she turned to him and noticed that he was still standing there watching her with that same bored expression.

She swallowed hard, her throat suddenly very dry, and gave a weak little laugh. "Uhm… do you mind?"

Sesshomaru wasn't sure what she meant. If he happened to mind her bathing he would have never brought her here. He was, in fact, a little grateful that she'd wanted to. She really did smell terribly. Unfortunately, the human concept of modesty was rather lost on him. He might be a noble youkai but he was still of a canine breed and they did not practice the same silly habits that humans did. Packs tended to do everything together. Sleeping, eating, traveling, childrearing, and yes even bathing – to him it was strange not to stay together through such an event.

If anything were to happen to those under his care, as the alpha male of his pack, he would never be able to live it down. He was still feeling a little sting at the idea that Rin had died so easily while in his presence. Therefore, he saw no need to comply with Kagome's silly ideals and remained exactly where he was, not looking directly at her but not looking away from her either.

She sighed heavily and her head slumped down. How would she go about this? She couldn't exactly strip down in front of him and bathe like that. It would be embarrassing and just seemed wrong. Looking to the water she let out a small whine as it beckoned to her. She really wanted that bath! Looking back to the ever stoic lord she decided she had two options.

She could forget her modesty, throw away her dignity, and bare it all before him for the sake of cleanliness. Or she could bathe with her clothes on and spend the rest of the night in wet clothing.

Neither option sounded all that appealing.

She considered what each of the options would give her. The first would mean that she was clean and her clothes would remain dry. It would also mean that she'd allow Sesshomaru to see what she'd never willingly allowed another person to see since she was six years old – and that person had been her mother! Even Sango had a sense of dignity and they tended to keep their eyes off one another long enough to get into the bath.

The other option meant she wouldn't end up as clean, although her clothes would be cleaner. Still, they'd be dripping wet and it was getting darker – she would likely end up with a cold. That wasn't something she could afford.

Biting her lip she looked back at him, hoping he'd solved all her problems by turning around. Instead she just met his usual calm gaze, not the least distressed by her dilemma.

Her head hung then and with a sigh she gave in. There was no point in fighting it. Besides, it was just a bath and it would be over with soon enough! She gathered her bathing supplies quickly, hands trembling, and placed them on a rock that was conveniently near the edge of the pond but not quite in the water. Then she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, struggling against the growing tension in her stomach as she reached down for the hem of her shirt.

Sesshomaru watched, terrifically bored with her turmoil. He really didn't see what the big deal was. It wasn't like she was attractive. She should just bathe and get it over with or not bathe at all. No. She should bathe, she really did smell horrible, but if she didn't stop fidgeting he was tempted to just throw her in the water and scrub her down himself. His eyes scanned the area for something hard and porous to scrub her with… something that would hurt.

A ruffling sound stopped his musings and he glanced up to see that she was finally getting some courage. She'd removed her top and her pants and was trying quickly to get out of the unusual undergarments she wore while attempting to run into the pond so as to keep him from seeing more than she'd like. He fought the urge to smirk. It really was interesting how stupid humans were sometimes.

Then, breaking the silence, she let out a sudden screech as her bare foot slipped on the muddy bank while she was still trying to divest herself of her panties. Kagome felt her eyes go wide as she knew what was coming next. Sure enough she fell forward, face first into the mud.

She lay there for a few moments, legs not quite together as she'd been trying to take her underwear off, nude body firmly planted in the mud that surrounded the pond. Her lips trembled and tears welled in her eyes. Why did she have to suffer like this? Her body shook as she allowed her sense of helplessness to overcome her. It was just too much to take!

He fought the urge to laugh outright at her. It wasn't in his nature to laugh. Walking over to her smoothly he looked down at her and then reached down, pulling her up by her right arm. For a few moments he just held her, dangling there before him, before giving a smirk and tossing her casually into the water.

Kagome screamed as her body flew into the ice cold pond, sending up a huge splash of water around her. Her body sank into the water deeper for a while before she came to her senses and pushed up, throwing her head back to take in much needed air.

He watched her as her head came up, the orange hue of the setting sun playing against the water and her hair almost made her seem inhuman for a few moments. Then she opened her mouth.

She turned to glare at him, pointing at him accusingly and suddenly not even aware that she was, in fact, only slightly more than waist deep in water and was giving him full view of her breasts. "How dare you? You didn't have to throw me!"

He raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing more. She stood there for a few more moments before letting out an annoyed sound and throwing her fists into the water, forcing it up in a splash. "Could you at least be so kind as to give me the soap there?" She pointed towards the soap bottle sitting on the rock a few feet from him. He looked to the soap and then went over, picking up the bottle and holding it up with a questioning gaze. She nodded and the next thing she knew, without a blink, he tossed the soap into the pond.


	13. Day 28

_Aggression only moves in one direction - it creates more aggression.__ – __Margaret J. Wheatley _

Day 28:

Kagome felt like she was beginning to understand the rather cold Sesshomaru. He was indifferent but he still cared, he was unrelenting but generous, he was everything that she thought he was and anything she believed he wasn't. He certainly wasn't half as bad as InuYasha made him out to be.

Her heart jumped at InuYasha's name and she felt her fingers clench in a tight fist. She hadn't thought about him much over the past few days. Her life seemed to be on some strange auto-pilot that just kept her moving along, happy in the companionship of Shippo and Sesshomaru. She couldn't exactly call Jaken and Ah-Un companions. One was more like a horse and the other had rarely said two words since she'd arrived in their group.

He was probably still emotional over Rin's loss. She couldn't blame him entirely. It seemed that while Sesshomaru was in charge Jaken had been left with the task of the girl's ultimate care.

Her eyes rose, shining in the moonlight. It was not exactly evening but was more like twilight, early in the morning. The moon hung low and large, descending down into oblivion to the other side of the world. She wondered if anything would ever be the same again.

Would she be able to return to her time? Would they be able to eradicate this pandemic and save mankind? Would InuYasha ever forgive her?

Oddly enough she didn't feel like crying the more she thought of him. Instead she just felt a strange sense of emptiness. She couldn't exactly blame him for being upset with her. It was her fault that so many people had died, including their friends. Still, she was hurt that he didn't trust her and believe in her to realize that she didn't do this on purpose. It wasn't like she'd climbed in the well in the first place. She'd been pushed.

What hurt more was how InuYasha was unable to forgive her but somehow Sesshomaru was. How did that make sense? She looked up, staring at the back of the elder brother, watching as his silver strands glowed lazily in the moonlight. Why had he forgiven her? She licked her lips gently and wondered if it would be alright to speak.

"Why did you forgive me?" The words came out slowly and seemed to fall down, resting like lead in her stomach as she waited for his response.

He didn't say anything at first, simply kept walking, and even when he did speak he never once slowed down or motioned to look at her. "This Sesshomaru saw no need to punish you for our own failure."

She gasped and slowed down for a few moments, taking in what he said. Her eyes widened as realization hit her. He blamed himself.

He didn't blame anyone but himself for the death of his ward. She was under his protection, his care, and maybe he even held some affection for the child. Like … like a father.

Kagome felt tears stinging in her eyes as she thought of how pained he must feel about the whole situation. There was nothing he could have done to save the girl, after all. If he had used his healing sword on her after death he would have only been reviving her so that she could die again, the virus had already struck. She sniffed a bit as she felt her emotions beginning to carry her away. It was just so sad.

"Do not pity for this Sesshomaru."

He said the words coldly and she realized that her remorse over the situation was likely making it difficult for him to overcome his own feelings. Reaching up she wiped at the tears on her face before continuing on. They did not say anything else for the remainder of the morning.

They stopped for a light breakfast and a rest, Shippo actually played for a short while and Kagome watched him with a happy smile. It was nice to see things the way they should be.

Suddenly Sesshomaru stood, a low growl forming deep in his chest. She reached down, picking up her sword and gesturing for Shippo to go near Jaken for safety. He did as she suggested and she stood, holding her sword ready for whatever might come.

From the distance she felt it, slowly making its way towards them like a dark curtain of empty loneliness. She knew that sensation. It was Naraku!

Turning she glanced at the now very clearly agitated youkai. He was upset about something and she couldn't quite place her finger on it.

What he was upset about was the fact that the hanyou was coming for them first. He should have known better, it wasn't like Naraku was stupid. The monstrosity would notice if Kagome and Sesshomaru were getting closer.

He would have to quickly come up with a plan.

Without hesitation he went into motion, pushing back against the ground and flying off in the opposite direction of Kagome. She seemed confused but remained where she is, having learned better than to try to presume she knew what he might be thinking.

He kept pushing further away from her but not going so far as to make it where he couldn't reach them. Sure enough that left Naraku with a choice. Go for the girl or go for him. He chose the greater of the two threats and went after Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru stood, pulling out Tokijin and readying himself for the fight to come. He would enjoy this.

A few moments later the dark haired hanyou appeared just over the treeline. They stared at one another, neither giving anything away. Then, Sesshomaru took the first move and darted towards his enemy.

Kagome couldn't see much of what was happening. They were too fast. Still, she ran towards them in an attempt to get close enough where she might be of use. Unfortunately, she could do very little from the ground.

She watched as they battled, seemingly forever, neither really gaining over the other. Still, they both were beginning to look tired and she knew that was a bad sign. Someone was going to slip up and there was no guarantee that it was Naraku. Sesshomaru was powerful but he wasn't entirely invincible.

Looking around with determination she set about trying to figure out a plan. She had to do something to help or this fight was going to end in a draw.

Her eyes twinkled as she came up with an idea. She just hoped it would work!

Half an hour later and Sesshomaru was beginning to tire of this fight. Why couldn't the hanyou just lay down and die already?

Then, out of the corner of his eye he saw something move. He wasn't sure exactly what it was but whatever it was it was glowing with compressed spiritual power. Sesshomaru was just barely lucky enough to move out of the way. Naraku wasn't as lucky as he tried to take advantage of an unusual opening in Sesshomaru's stance.

Her sword sunk into the hanyou, spiritual pressure radiating from it. Everyone stood in disbelief as Naraku attempted to pull the sword from his body only to find that touching it seared his flesh. He started to melt away and then suddenly in a flash, he was gone.

Sesshomaru dared not to touch the sword as it hung there for a few moments before falling to the ground. He turned to look at her, standing there with her large makeshift bow that she'd created from items inside her backpack. She'd shot at Naraku with the biggest arrow in her arsenal and had managed to get him… with a lucky shot.


	14. Day 29

_A great man's greatest good luck is to die at the right time.__ – __Eric Hoffer _

Day 29:

Kagome was still angry with him.

After Naraku was purified the youkai had turned on her, blood staining into his amber glare as his teeth elongated with every growl. She gasped as he moved and then was next to her, hand around her throat and claws digging into her delicate skin. Her eyes watered from the shock and the sudden lack of air and she struggled, pulling against his hands in a futile attempt to save her life.

For a few moments she just stared at him, gasping for breath, as he growled angrily at her. His markings seemed to become more defined and his face appeared to be stretching out. He wasn't just angry. He was pissed!

Internally he fought with himself for control. She was an idiot and deserved to die for her reckless behavior but he needed her to find the rest of the jewel shards. Closing his eyes tightly he took in a deep breath and let it go slowly.

Then he unceremoniously dropped her, allowing her to fall to the ground in a heap. She struggled for air, her lungs burning with each breath she took, before looking up at him with an angry glare. "What was that for?"

He looked down at her and growled low but reconsidered the fact that she may just be entirely too stupid to understand. Through gritted teeth he spoke sharply. "What if you missed?"

Kagome's mouth fell open then and hung there, gaping wide. She hadn't really considered that possibility. Still, she didn't and there wasn't any reason to kill her for what happened! She stood up and angrily marched past him, going towards where her fallen sword was and the jewel shard which had been momentarily forgotten. "Well just be glad that I didn't!"

That was how Kagome found herself angry with him and how she'd effectively earned her way onto his silent treatment list. He hadn't said a single thing to her since they'd collected the shard. Worse, it had been nearly an entire day and a half… and they were still walking.

He didn't motion to stop even once. Kagome was finding his pace difficult to keep up with. She was famished, filthy, and had to pee. Like he cared!

Truth was: he didn't care.

He was still livid with her ineptitude.

He knew the girl was young and often dramatic but he would have thought she'd have enough common sense to realize that if she had purified him by accident then where would that have left her? Dead. That is where that would have left her! Naraku would have taken a few moments to chuckle, she would have weakly tried to fight him off, Jaken would have attempted to do something in some pathetic attempt at saving his master's pride… and then she would die. Idiot.

They'd been walking for hours in his attempt to keep himself from killing her. He could kill her later. He needed her to find these shards so that he could solve this problem.

Still, she would need a rest at some point or he'd kill her far too soon. Torture was good enough for her right now. Death was far too kind a release from her punishment. He made a quick turn, pausing to smell the area, before continuing on for a few more feet. Then he stopped suddenly.

She did not rush into him. In fact, she was lagging rather far behind him, her face contorted in pain.

He didn't say a word and merely sat down on a fallen log. There was no clearing. No real sign of an area that was suitable for sleeping. He was kind enough to make sure there was water but specifically avoided the nearby hot spring and instead stopped near very pathetic little creek that ran through the trees jaggedly. If he stepped in it he might get the top of his boots damp.

He waited for her to complain, to give him a reason to follow through with her death and just forget it all. Surprisingly, she didn't. Instead she looked up and gave him a smile. He looked away from her then, an odd heavy feeling settling in his chest. She reminded him too much of Rin in that moment.

Kagome was beyond happy. She went about her personal hygiene first. She found the little brook and while normally she'd be angry she was too tired to be upset. It had been almost 5 days since her last good bath and she needed a little scrub. She pulled out her bathing supplies and took up a washcloth from in her backpack before turning her back to him and proceeding to give herself a light sponge bath without actually removing any clothing.

After she'd cleaned herself up and taken care of business she returned to sit next to him, on the ground, and pulled out the last of her food. Two granola bars. With a sigh she opened one and then, hesitantly, held it out before him.

He stared at the odd item that looked a lot like tree bark or compressed dirt and raised his eyebrow but turned away. He didn't want anything she offered.

With a defeated sigh she sat back, hands going into her lap and head going down. She knew she'd messed up but didn't he, too? She'd only been trying to help. A voice in her head came up then and reminded her that was no excuse. Her help could have killed them both. While he was wrong for attacking her she was more wrong for attacking stupidly.

She swallowed, a lump forming in the back of her throat. Her tongue felt thick and heavy, like cobwebs were forming on them. Her eyes stung and tears welled in them. Taking in a labored breath she said what she should have said yesterday: "I'm sorry, Sesshomaru."

She knew better than to expect his forgiveness again. She had taken his previous generosity for granted. Now, now when she really understood her part in this, she had nothing more to gain other than to do what was right.

Looking down at her granola she bit into it, the sound of her chewing the only thing filling the empty space. When she finished she pulled the jewel shard out, examining how much they had at this point. Naraku had collected quite a bit. It really was just a stroke of luck that they had defeated him rather easily. "We have about one third of the jewel left to complete. There's no telling how many InuYasha has by now but I'd guess we have to collect most of what is left still."

He didn't say anything, as usual, and she gave another sigh before turning to roll out her sleeping bag and settling inside. She lay there, looking up at him for a few moments before his eyes met hers in the beginnings of darkness. Normally she would have been afraid but instead she felt comforted. Despite how angry he was with her he was still looking out for her.


	15. Day 31

_Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.__ –__Arnold Bennett _

Day 31:

It had been nearly a month since the infection began to spread. They'd been traveling faster than normal, working harder than ever to recover the jewel shards.

He still rarely said anything to her but he didn't seem to be as angry as before. He still treated her somewhat badly, finding little puddles of water or ice cold ponds for her to bathe in and never bothering to give her any semblance of privacy. Still, when her food had run out he wordlessly began to hunt down small game. Yesterday it had been a little rabbit, today it was some sort of bird – a pheasant, perhaps?

So here she sat, plucking the bird slowly. He did not say anything to her, they rarely spoke now, but she assumed that he would need more time than 3 days to calm his fury at her having taken his kill and nearly killing him in the process. She realized that she'd damaged his pride slightly and knew he wouldn't say anything until she'd somehow shown her trust in him again.

Just traveling with him like this wasn't good enough. She did that out of necessity and not out of desire, after all. With a sigh she reached up, bringing the back of her dirty hand to rub at her forehead before continuing with her work.

Sesshomaru stood near a tree, looking across the wooded area with a bored expression before his gaze fell upon her, plucking the bird without a word. He hadn't been sure what to say to her at the moment. His rage at her foolish mistake was still rather high but he found himself less worried about the fact that she'd nearly killed him and more worried about what might have happened if she had.

Begrudgingly he had to admit that somewhere along the way he'd accepted her and her little kit into his pack. Shippo filled a gap that Rin had left open in his mental image of what his entourage should be. He'd grown accustomed to having a child in the group and had begun to understand how his mother and father must have felt when they had him. Children caused you to become more defensive, more alert, and more sensitive to danger. Part of him still felt guilty about having missed Rin's plight until it was too late and so he saw caring for the child as a form of apology to the young girl.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder what place the woman took. He'd never had a female of this age in his group before and was having a hard time dealing with how he mentally wanted to categorize her and how he instinctually wanted to.

Naturally, in a normal functioning pack, all women who were of breeding age were specifically for that purpose. They were bitches, meant to be submissive to the alpha male and to bear his offspring if he so deemed them worthy. If he did not – they would not remain in the pack. There was no grey area. Either they would be mates or they were cast off for some lesser male to pick up.

He couldn't help but feel amused at the irony.

Kagome was, if nothing else, InuYasha's submissive. He was a lesser male than Sesshomaru and yet he had cast her off to him. It was almost insulting.

Of course, the hanyou didn't really see it that way. His instincts were immature and he had not been raised to understand pack hierarchy the way Sesshomaru was. That much was evident by the fact that he allowed his females to control him and for another male which was clearly also alpha to be in his group.

With a light growl he pushed aside his instinctual thoughts for a moment. Kagome clearly did not belong in that role. She was not suited. She was brash, stupid, and often demanding. Even worse, she was human which made her naturally weak and mortal. He had overcome his pure hatred of humans due to Rin but he could still not grasp how they were all that useful. A proper female had to be useful, it was only natural.

No. To him, Kagome was nothing more than a means to an end. She would help him find these jewel shards. Then she would make her wish and fix this problem so that he could ultimately save Rin, whom he was indebted to. That was his plan.

"Would you start a fire, please?"

Her voice broke through his thoughts and his focus once again turned to her. He considered telling her no but she'd been working so hard on that bird and would likely just take longer if she had to finish cleaning it only to then find firewood and start a fire in order to cook it. As he moved away from her to collect kindling and start a fire he convinced himself that it was only a matter of convenience to him for her to finish earlier.

Kagome was surprised when he'd complied but gave a small smile and continued with her work. Maybe he wasn't as angry with her as she'd thought? Shaking her head she laughed at herself. It didn't matter in the end if he was or not, she supposed. She was just here to fulfill her duty, get the remaining jewel shards, and then make a wish. If she didn't make this virus go away she would never even be born!

She wondered how much time she had left.


	16. Day 35

_Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them.__ – __David Hume _

Day 35:

Walking along in mutual silence they passed through the trees of the forest, the light occasionally breaking through to shine down on them.

Over the last few days there had been few prospects, only finding two shards, and Sesshomaru remained rather silent out of frustration at her lack of ability to find them faster. Normally she would have grown angry at this. However, she'd had a lot of time to think carefully about his behavior, InuYasha's, and even her own.

She had learned to be more trusting and more compliant. Never yelling, never arguing, never accusing… she'd realized that her usual behavior with men was not really working with Sesshomaru. Probably because he was not like most of the immature men she knew. Even Miroku and her grandfather were less mature. Then again, Miroku's only fault was that he was a pervert and her grandfather's was only that he hadn't lived as long. Even so, of the men she tended to have in her life she had come to the understanding that they were all _boys_. Her own father had not been around since shortly after her brother's birth and her mother rarely even spoke of him. She had never been exposed to how a man behaved and how a woman should respond.

Sesshomaru was certainly no _boy_.

He didn't like her. He barely knew her. He had no reason to help her, guide her, protect her, or even look her way – and yet here he was.

She looked up, eyes lingering on his back as his hair swished back and forth with the movement of his steps. A small smile crept onto her face as her expression melted into a gentle understanding. He even slowed down so she could keep up.

Whatever she might have thought of him Sesshomaru was too proud to not see her care as vital, even if it was not always in regard to her comfort. She now understood perfectly why Rin had followed him so diligently.

Sesshomaru was a man of his word – even if those words were never spoken.

Realizing this caused Kagome to feel guilty and selfish. She'd been so used to relying on others. That was how the modern world was, after all. While women had "rights" and had a say in things in their own lives this did not change the fact that people, in general, were more reliant on one another.

Considering all the modern comforts she had grown accustomed to and how many people were required to keep those available to her – her grandfather ran the shrine and rarely asked for her assistance and in return she had a place to live, her mother cooked her meals and washed her clothes and in return Kagome had a safe and happy home, her teachers came to school and taught her with little pay or recognition and in return she was educated, even with InuYasha she was used to taking people for granted. He wanted something that only she could provide and he seemed more than happy to bend to her demands in order to get what he wanted from her.

Sesshomaru did not bend to anyone.

He could care less if she starved but he fed her because she did not complain or request otherwise and, for now, it did not interfere with his plans. When there was no water to bathe with he simply would not take her to it. When there was no place with a clearing for a comfortable night's sleep he would often just stop or keep walking. Her sleeping and eating really only inconvenienced him, he rarely needed to do either.

She was beginning to understand that Sesshomaru had no reason to make her happy and she had no right to demand it. Oddly enough her thoughts had led to her to have more respect for him. The Kagome Higurashi in his mind was not as weak as she was in other's minds because he wouldn't allow her to be that way. She was still weak, as she was human, but he seemed to not fault her for that.

In reality he faulted her for it so much that he felt like he was going to explode. Externally he didn't show anything, of course, but inside he was growing steadily more agitated. This was taking far too long and he was growing tired of hunting for these shards. The woman rarely seemed to do _anything_ that he might view as valuable.

The way his parents had shown him was that females were meant to serve the males. When they weren't serving the males they were working alongside them. Males and females hunted, ate, slept, and bathed _together_. Yet every request she made was all about her! She was hungry so he should eat. She was tired so she should sleep. She smelled so she should bathe. It really was driving him mad!

How was it that Rin, a child, could understand far easier than this woman? Rin had never asked for anything. He would stop when he was tired and she would rest when he gave her the chance. He would feed her when he felt hungry and she would ravenously eat it up with a grateful smile. He would bathe when he remembered and she would jump into the water to swim around near him, happy for the chance to be clean.

Sesshomaru really couldn't understand what the woman's problem was!

True, he had noticed some improvement. She'd stop whining, yelling, and otherwise making loud obnoxious noises that hurt his ears. She also hadn't asked for anything since the day he'd made the fire for her. Now, much to his surprise, she made the fire while he was out hunting. Perhaps she was gaining intelligence? Maybe she wasn't a lost cause after all.

He should test that theory.

His mouth twitched lightly. He hadn't had much fun lately and he was in need of a victim. Kagome made the perfect victim every single time and so, without much more thought, he made a sudden turn to the left, weaving through the trees as if nothing had happened. She let out a sigh and his eyes twinkled with amusement.

After about 20 minutes of walking, having made sure to choose the farthest one just so she could walk more, he stopped a few feet from a bubbling hot spring. Her eyes widened and he was surprised that she didn't jump up and down in a childish moment of glee as he'd seen Rin do on occasion. She did, however, dart around him and head towards the water with speed as she began to remove her shoes.

He cleared his throat causing her to pause mid-hop. She turned to look at him with an uncertain gaze. "Did I do something wrong?" Her words were gentle and low and he raised an eyebrow at this. Had she really learned this much already?

Looking over at her with a bored expression he calmly explained. "This Sesshomaru requires bathing as well."

Kagome just stood there for a while, trying to figure out just what he was getting at. "Do you want to take a bath first?" It wasn't that unusual, she supposed. He was the most senior member of their party.

His expression didn't change much but she could tell by the light furrowing of his brow that he was annoyed. Apparently she'd guessed wrong. Looking to the ground she sighed as she tried to figure out what the problem was. Finally she looked up at him, a light frown on her face. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."

He was impressed yet again and wondered when her lucky streak would end. Of course, he knew she wouldn't fully understand. Humans had odd customs.

"Those in This Sesshomaru's pack bathe when This Sesshomaru does. It is unsafe for anyone to be out of This Sesshomaru's protection."

She took in everything that he said, eyes widening. He wanted to bathe _with her_. A dark frown marred her face as she considered how best to react to this. Shippo came up to her then, seeing her dilemma, and smiled at her. "It's okay, Kagome! My family did it all the time!" She thought back on how Shippo frequently joined her and Sango for their bathing. It was true, he seemed to think nothing of it.

A heavy clinking sound interrupted her thoughts and she looked over to see Sesshomaru removing his armor. He wasn't looking at her. He wasn't giving her a choice. With a sigh she turned away from him, quickly removing her clothes and making a run for the water before her mind could convince herself otherwise.

She decided she would stay in the water for as long as she could. She'd always been pretty good at holding her breath and the water in these springs had an unusual mineral content that caused them to be a slightly dense color so she couldn't see anything from here. This would be the perfect place to hide until he got into the water and then she could just ignore him.

Moments went by and she was beginning to feel the pressure building up in her chest as she reached her limit. Then she felt a large splash in the water and with a triumphant inward cheer she rose up, reaching up to pull the hair out of her eyes.

Kagome had momentarily forgotten how incredibly terrible her luck was.

There before her stood Sesshomaru, not caring at all that she was seeing him. Her face went bright red and she tried to coax herself to turn but found that she was frozen in place. Agonizingly slow he got into the water and submerged himself. Once he was in the water she let out a heavy breath that she hadn't even noticed she was holding.

To her left something splashed and she turned to see what had jumped into the water. It was Jaken.

The color immediately left her and she groaned, feeling slightly sick to her stomach. Yes, Kagome's luck was horrible.


	17. Day 36

_As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round.__ – __Ben Hogan _

Day 36:

He made a mistake.

It made him feel sick and guilty that it had taken him this long to realize this. Even if he was unhappy with her, even if she had done the unforgivable… she hadn't deserved what he gave her.

She didn't deserve being left with Sesshomaru.

The little triangular ears atop his head drooped as he considered how hurt she must have been. How hurt he had made her. He could still hear her screaming how she'd never forgive him for abandoning her again. He couldn't blame her entirely.

He had promised he would stick by her and she had held him to that promise, even if he had made it under pressure at first. Eventually he had meant it and he did come to enjoy her company greatly. Part of him even loved her, although he was still having a difficult time coming to terms with that.

He heard a rustling and looked up to see Kikyo, tending to the fire and cooking his dinner. His eyes softened slightly as he stared at her for a few moments before she looked up to return his gaze with her deep brown eyes. They shared a few moments before he looked away from her then, too ashamed of himself to continue.

It wasn't right and he knew it.

InuYasha knew he couldn't love them both equally. He had to make a choice and whatever he chose would be the wrong choice regardless. He had accepted that much, at least. He still wasn't ready to make a choice, though. How do you choose from two women who are so alike and yet so different?

His brow furrowed in annoyance as he considered how things had been since they had started hunting for jewel shards. She was far more efficient than Kagome, it was true. She found shards easily and they had collected one nearly every day, sometimes two! So far they had 14 jewel shards, they were making excellent progress.

Also, Kikyo rarely spoke above a whisper as she knew how sensitive his hearing was. She did not yell or nag him and she rarely disagreed on anything. She cooked for him every night, although it wasn't ramen, and didn't ever ask for a thing!

A little voice that sounded too much like Miroku popped up in his head asking with amusement:

So why don't you choose her?

He frowned then. It wasn't that easy or that simple. Frustrated he huffed and crossed his arms, looking up at the night sky and wondering if Kagome was doing the same.

She was. She just wasn't thinking about him.

Kagome was laying there on a bed of soft clover and pointing to constellations that she knew, explaining to Sesshomaru what each one was. He seemed interested, for once, in something she had to say.

"You see this pattern right over here?" She moved her hands in a sweeping motion across the zig-zagging pattern of stars. He did not say anything but gave a nod and she continued. "That is Cassiopeia. The story goes that Cassiopeia was a rather vain queen and believed that she and her daughter were more beautiful than the sea nymphs. As punishment the sea god Poseidon punished her kingdom and she sought a wise oracle to help her appease the god and save her people. The oracle told her that she should offer her daughter as a sacrifice."

Then she moved her hand down, pointing towards another crooked y shaped pattern of stars. "That is Perseus. Perseus was a brave hero who had just defeated a terrible enemy when, on his way home, he happened upon the daughter, Andromeda, chained to a rock and awaiting the great sea monster to come and eat her. He rescued her and they married, even though she was promised to another. Then when they died the gods were so moved by their story that they placed them among the stars." She pointed to another pattern of stars that seemed to reach for the one she'd just pointed towards. "That is Andromeda there, reaching for her lover."

Despite the rather ridiculous story he was fascinated to learn that humans used stars to tell tales and that through these tales they could then make out images in the sky which would help with discerning their location. It was a rather complex system for a species that seemed rather mundane. That Persus seemed like a decent human, too.

Her slow and rhythmic breathing let him know that she had fallen asleep while he was lost in his thoughts. For a few moments he just stood there, watching the stars, but then a cool breeze swept past them and he noticed her shiver out of the corner of his eye. Walking over to her unusual pouch he pulled out the odd sheet that she normally slept in and haphazardly draped it across her.

She wasn't fully covered but she should stay warm enough not to catch a cold. She would be even more useless if she became ill. She would need all the strength she could get because tomorrow they were going through a human village which he could already smell the stench of death from. They would go through there and he would not save her if she was weak.

Returning his eyes up to the sky he considered what she told him about these… constellations and wondered how she had become so educated on so many varied subjects.

She woke a few hours later, getting up quickly without much fuss and packing up her things. She turned to him with a small smile and he stood there, regarding her unusually pleasant demeanor before turning away from her and starting off again.

Jaken followed silently, mumbling to himself as he always did, pulling Ah-Un along with the sleeping kit atop him.

Kagome was curious as to where they were headed when she stopped suddenly, eyes widening in surprise as she pointed ahead to the left. "I sense a jewel shard that way." She said with determination.

They entered the village just as the sun was rising.


	18. Day 37

_I'll take fifty percent efficiency to get one hundred percent loyalty.__ – __Samuel Goldwyn _

Day 37:

It was eerily quiet in the village. Kagome followed Sesshomaru who seemed unaffected as always, her eyes darting around for any sign of life. Her nose twitched. Even to her the place smelled awful. She couldn't imagine how bad it was for him.

Then, in the distance, they heard a sound. A familiar screaming, the sound of an arrow as it sinks into a target, scuffling. Sesshomaru paused, not turning to look at them. "Jaken, stay here and keep an eye on things. If it seems to get out of control take Ah-Un and the kit and leave the area immediately."

Kagome smiled at how he'd thought of them. InuYasha would have just rushed into things blindly. Then he turned to look at her and her eyes widened at the depth of emotions in his eyes. As far as she knew, Sesshomaru only ever showed this much emotion in one situation. They were about to fight. "Are you ready?"

She turned and went over to hand Shippo her backpack before turning, resting her hand on the hilt of her sword and giving a nod. He didn't wait for her to say anything or change her mind merely turned and then walked further into the village. The deeper they went the louder things became.

Finally they turned into what seemed to be the central area of the village only to walk into a great mess. Undead were everywhere, this had been a somewhat large population, and in the middle were their targets: InuYasha and Kikyo.

Sesshomaru didn't wait for her and she did not expect him to. He charged into battle, but not against the undead. Instead his target was his half-brother. He let out a loud growl and InuYasha's eyes widened as he brought Tetsuaiga up to meet Tokijin. The swords clashed angrily and the brothers lashed out at one another, pushing against each other.

Kagome watched for a few moments, unsure how to feel about the situation, before she realized that some of the zombies were headed in her direction. She inhaled slowly, nostrils flaring, and her eyes tightened as she bent forward a little, bringing her hands close to her hips. Just as a few of them came close she released the sword, pulling it from the sheath in a wide arc and cutting through three of them.

She felt that familiar feeling creeping up on her and allowed herself to follow the music, dancing along. Bringing the sword up she ran past another zombie, slicing through it easily before turning and undercutting another at the knees. She knew she had to cut their heads off or at least severely damage the brain in order to stop the movement but she also knew there were too many to focus on that right now.

After cutting through a few more she met the steady gaze of Kikyo. The undead were not interested in her. Kagome's eyes widened. Of course! She was already dead! She had no time to consider that when the elder priestess held up her bow, glaring at Kagome and pulling back an arrow. A gasp escaped the younger girl as her past incarnation fired.

Kagome let out a scream and dodged, swinging at the arrow with her sword. She didn't hit it but she managed to get out of the way, at least. Kikyo brought up another arrow, once again taking aim at Kagome and firing.

Kagome dodged again, this time managing to knock down the arrow as her expression began to melt from shocked to angry. When the undead woman pulled another arrow to the younger woman's spiritual aura began to spill out.

Sesshomaru pushed InuYasha back and the hanyou was ready to charge when he noticed that his half-brother wasn't even looking at him anymore. Turning to see what had taken his interest his eyes widened. Kagome was pissed. He felt a shudder run down his spine, momentarily glad that it wasn't at him.

Then he saw who she was angry with. Kikyo had another arrow and was aiming at Kagome again.

Kagome let out an angry sound, a mix between a yell and a growl, and charged at the older woman. She jumped up, drawing the sword up over her head, before she fell down at Kikyo.

Kikyo readjusted her sights, aiming directly at Kagome's chest – and fired.

The arrow sunk through with a sickening plunk and Kagome's eyes widened but her ferocity did not diminish and she clung to her sword tighter, bringing it down onto the woman and cutting into her shoulder, slicing her arm off.

Both women crumbled and the undead around them had finally closed in closer. Kagome was too tired by then to even care that in a few moments she would be dead.

InuYasha was torn. What did he do? Why had Kikyo tried to kill Kagome? He didn't understand!

Sesshomaru was not in the least bit torn. His eyes were slightly tinted with red as he bared his fangs and raced down to the young girl, picking her up easily and running off with her.

The undead tried to follow Kagome but Sesshomaru was too fast for them. InuYasha growled low and went down to Kikyo, lifting her as well and following after his half-brother. He had questions and he wanted them answered now!

Sesshomaru passed over Jaken on his way out of the village and the toad retainer screeched before following as fast as he could. He raced out of the area and back to the clover covered field where she would at least be comfortable before laying her down in the bright green colored plants and gauging her injuries.

The arrow had shot just next to her heart and had likely pierced it somehow as her pulse was becoming erratic. Her breathing was shallow and her coloring was fading. Reaching down he pulled her to where she could lean up against him and then put his hand on the back of the arrow. His fingers were trembling slightly but he only glared at his own hand.

InuYasha entered the clearing then, setting the undead woman on the ground before racing over to them with a low growl. "Sesshomaru! What are you doing? If you hurt Kagome…."

He never finished the sentence as Sesshomaru turned his glare onto him. Deep red eyes stared at him and InuYasha swallowed hard. He might be stupid sometimes but he knew his brother was serious if he had lost control that badly. Then he heard the sound of a twig snapping and watched as Sesshomaru pulled the arrow out of her body.

Her hair billowed out as she fell back, and landed against the ground, a painful moan coming from her as she did so. Sesshomaru tossed the arrow to the side just as Jaken and the others arrived. Shippo darted over to Kagome, worried. "Kagome! Kagome are you okay?"

The visibly angry lord walked past InuYasha, stepping on Kikyo as he went, and retrieved Kagome's backpack before returning – this time avoiding the priestess entirely. He opened the pack, turning it over to dump all the contents onto the ground as Kagome began to gasp for air.

InuYasha could only stand there watching, mouth agape. His brain still wasn't sure what the heck had happened. Why had Kikyo tried to kill Kagome? Why was Sesshomaru so protective over her? None of this made sense!

Letting out a rumbling growl he fished around in the various items before he came to the two things he was seeking. Turning to Kagome he reached down and slid a single claw beneath the bottom hem of her shirt. InuYasha made a small squeak as his hands came up in an attempt to stop his brother but was defeated by the sound of shredding material.

Sesshomaru then opened the bottle before turning it around and dumping the entire contents onto her gaping wound. He watched as it bubbled up with a slight bit of satisfaction and she let out a moan of discomfort at how cold it was.

Then, after all the liquid had either sank into her wound or rolled off of her chest he ripped open one of the last few bandages she had, placing it on her as if it would magically make her wound disappear. He waited.

InuYasha's ears drooped and he slowly made his way over to stand near them. "I don't think that is going to work."

Sesshomaru growled low and glared at InuYasha. He had no other options right now! Her medicine had been the most effective he had seen, even if it did have a funny smell. He certainly couldn't let another human die on his watch! No!

It was as if the world which held his proud self on it so still had suddenly been shaken. Sesshomaru had no idea how to accept defeat. Kagome's raspy gasps drew their attention and the brothers both leaned over her with their own forms of concern.

Sesshomaru felt himself getting angry with her. Why did she have to die like an idiot? Couldn't she have just run away like she used to? As she took her final shaky breaths and stilled he realized that she wouldn't do that anymore. He'd taught her not to.

InuYasha was heartbroken. Tears welled in his eyes and he let out a growl before racing over to where Kikyo lay. "Why? Why did you have to shoot her?" He spat out at her, so upset he could barely express himself.

Kikyo looked at him and then looked away before speaking slowly. "She has Naraku's piece of the jewel shard. Killing her was the fastest way to get it."

He couldn't believe his ears, both at her reasoning and at the fact that Kagome and Sesshomaru had defeated Naraku. "You could have asked!"

For once she showed some emotion, one of the few she could, anger. "Do you think she would have listened?"

He just stood there, staring down at her in disbelief. How could both the women he loved hurt other people he cared for?

Shippo was crying in the background and InuYasha let out a frustrated scream. He just couldn't understand how things had got so complicated in just a few days! It was aggravating! It was as if he was trying to solve a puzzle but without all the most important pieces.

Sesshomaru stared down at Kagome's corpse for a while before letting out a low huff and reaching down to pull out his father's fang. For once, he was never so determined to revive another than he was today. He was going to bring this woman back and then torture her for the rest of her life for being an incompetent idiot!

"This Sesshomaru did not give you permission to die!" He yelled out as the sword pulsed and he cut down the underworld demons in one swoop.

She stirred and let out a little moan, coughing a few times before sitting up slowly and bracing her head with her hand. "Ugh… what happened?" She mumbled before looking down and noticing that her shirt was now ripped to shred. "Jeeze, really?" She said with aggravation before looking up to see Sesshomaru standing before her, eyes closed and jaw clenched.

He was obviously very angry with her right now. She looked over to see Shippo who still was crying, only now happier, and InuYasha, who seemed confused and frustrated, and… Kikyo… who's arm was hanging by just a small remaining bit of flesh. Oh. Right. She'd been attacked by Kikyo! Her eyes widened and she gasped, quickly looking down at her chest and reaching up a hand to touch only to frown as her hand came back wet. Ew, that was gross.

The arrow was gone! A small smile came to her face as she realized just why she was wet when she saw the sloppily placed bandage on her chest, covering where the wound would have been. She pulled her shirt closed with her hand before looking up at Sesshomaru. She wanted to thank him but InuYasha interrupted her before she could begin.

"I don't know what is really going on here with you two but…" He looked at Kagome who turned to return his gaze. "I'm sorry, Kagome. Can we just forget all that happened? You've got jewel shards, I've got jewel shards. There can't be that many more to collect. You can come with us. Kikyo was just being stupid and made a mistake."

Kagome looked down for a few moments, a feeling of sadness coming over her at how her next words would hurt someone regardless of what she said. She knew, however, what she wanted to say.

Slowly she stood, reaching down into the spilled contents of her backpack to pull out a new shirt. She stripped off the old one before pulling on the new one, a sleeveless white ribbed cotton top. Then she turned towards InuYasha and walked to him. Reaching up she held her arms open and he fell into them gladly.

She hugged him, petting him gently before pulling back and looking down on him. "I'm sorry, InuYasha. I am going to finish my mission with Sesshomaru." She looked away at his angry expression and then held up her hand. "Please give me your jewel shards."

For the second time today InuYasha looked completely flabbergasted. He huffed and crossed his arms, turning away from her. "Why should I?"

"Because it's the right thing to do and if you want us to be able to put all of this behind us then one of us has to finish this."

He sighed. She was right. He hated when she was right. Reaching into his sleeve he yanked out a glowing pouch and thrust it into her hand. Then he glared at her and at Kikyo before running off and leaving them all behind.


	19. Day 38

_A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination. – Nelson Mandela_

Day 38:

He'd brought her back to the hot spring, not saying a word as he set her down lightly on her feet. Kagome wasn't sure how to take his behavior. He had been clinging to her as if she was going to disappear any moment and as if, somehow, that was going to bother him. Brushing it off she decided she would just accept his kindness with gratitude. He had saved her life and had been there for her during a very difficult time, it was the least she could do.

Turning away from him she slowly lowered her backpack to the ground, pulling out her bathing supplies. A few moments later she gave a happy sigh as the warm water lapped against her aching body. The hole where the arrow had gone through healed with Tenseiga's power but the muscles were still tender and she was slowly forming a little bruise. Apparently it just sped up the healing process enough where you'd survive but didn't make everything perfect. Reaching up she placed her hand on her chest over the purple mark that was just beneath her skin. She still had a hard time figuring out why Kikyo had done that.

She had wanted to help the priestess but Sesshomaru would hear nothing of it and after she had packed her things he suddenly swept her up into his arm and carried her off without a word. His eyes had returned to their usual shade of gold but where firm and hard – he was still very upset. She wondered what she had done to upset him so much. Turning lightly in the water she rested her arms against the craggy rocks of the hot spring before laying her head against them and staring at him. He was watching her intently.

Finally, with a quiet voice she spoke up. "What did I do wrong this time?"

Her words broke him from his thoughts and his eyes focused on her once more. Almost as soon as his eyes met hers he looked away, almost as if he were embarrassed. "This Sesshomaru sees no need to tell you. "

She sighed lightly but continued to stare at him, not letting him out of this one. For a few moments they both remained there in silence before he looked back at her, letting out a low growl at her defiance. He didn't want to tell her the truth because he was still coming to terms with it himself.

In those few moments when he watched that arrow sink into her chest something in him had snapped. Instinct took over and logic had no more say in the matter: Kagome was a part of _his_ pack and her safety and survival affected _his_ pride. He could not allow another to die on _his_ watch.

She was somewhat annoying and incompetent but she'd proven she could learn her place and while she wasn't perfect she was doing her best. Even worse, though, was how she'd appeared when she had attacked the zombies. He had not shown her that pulling the sword out like that would give her an advantage of force – she had discovered that all on her own. As she brought her sword up and sliced through the zombies easily he found himself entranced by her movements.

When she had faced true fear, however, against Kikyo she was – dare say it – beautiful.

After she died he felt his heart burning with rage. How dare she let him down like that? Did she not owe him? She wasn't allowed to die until he told her she could! That was how it worked!

He had been ready to scold her for her inefficiency at living when InuYasha had interrupted. The mutt was trying to take the girl now that she'd shown she had more than just a modicum of intelligence but also had the ability to protect herself! He couldn't help but find it ironic. However, when his half-brother asked her to go with him he felt the sharp stab of ice forming in his chest.

Sesshomaru half expected her to run to his brother and when she went to embrace him he had to fight hard not to let his instincts completely destroy what remainder of his pride was left. He was surprised, however, when she said that she would not go with InuYasha but had instead chosen to remain with him. Her loyalty was like a little seed implanted deep in his abdomen, opening and flowering within him and spreading unusual warmth.

In that moment logic and instinct agreed – Kagome Higurashi was _his_.

The only problem was that he knew that telling her that would really not go very well. She still had a long way to go to understand the ways of his kind. For some reason he now cared if he upset her. He supposed that was only natural when he accepted her as a permanent member of his party.

Kagome gave an annoyed huff before turning away from him then and crossing her arms as a small pout came to her face. His expression remained rather emotionless but the twinkle in his eyes showed that he was amused at her self-induced plight and saw no need to help her out of it.


	20. Day 39

_Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives.__ – __C. S. Lewis _

Day 39:

Sesshomaru had been acting really strange lately. Kagome couldn't quite figure it out, honestly. After she had her bath and had dressed she said she was ready to go hunt more jewel shards, they only had a few left after all, and he'd given her this blank stare that somehow seemed to hint at how insane she was. For some reason he felt that she needed a full day to rest.

This morning she woke up and was surprised to find that he had actually fallen asleep today. It was the first time she'd ever seen him sleep in all their travels. Slowly she went over to him, crawling up to where he sat, leaned against a tree. Her head turned to one side as she took in his now gentle features. He seemed to kind, almost sweet, when he was sleeping. It was amazing how this and the stoic being were one and the same.

Reaching up she brought her hand up, her tongue coming out to lick at her dry and cracked lips as she swallowed hard before her fingertips brushed lightly against the crescent symbol on his forehead.

His eyes shot open then and he let out a low growl to which she responded with a squeak before backing up and looking away from him, a faint blush coming to her cheeks. She didn't know what had compelled her to touch him. Sure, he was painfully beautiful but that wasn't why she had wanted to run her fingers over the blue shape that rested on his soft skin. It was really soft, too… Kagome frowned and brought her own hand up to pinch herself just behind her ear. Stop thinking like that!

While she was punishing herself for her devious thoughts he had stood and was now staring down at her with his usual empty gaze, waiting for her to collect herself so they could move on. Looking up at him she gave a small half-hearted laugh at her own crazy behavior before standing and brushing herself off. "Sorry." Was all she said before she turned to get her things and they continued on their journey.

Sesshomaru was surprised at her brazen actions. He hadn't expected it, for sure, but he knew she was up to something when he sensed her movements towards his resting form. He wasn't so far in sleep that he didn't notice her getting closer, or how she'd stared at him for a while. Although, he'd have never thought that she would have actually touched him. He fought within himself between being angry with her for it and being amused.

Normally he would have physically punished someone for that kind of behavior. No one touched the alpha male like that. If the alpha wanted to be touched he would touch you first. Yet, for some reason he couldn't bring himself to punish her for her curiosity. It hadn't been as terrible as he'd feared anyway, a human's touch.

Quickly brushing those thoughts aside he turned to her while he continued walking. "How many are left?" He had to get out of this woman's presence and the sooner the better. She was beginning to change him, he could feel it. He was getting softer and was starting to… care… for her.

She looked down at the collection of shards that she had and tried to guess how many they might need. There were only a few missing at this point. Somehow, that idea made her a little sad. Traveling with Sesshomaru hadn't always been the easiest but he was growing on her in an unexpected way. Unlike InuYasha he didn't run away from her any time he got angry. Her mind wandered to the hanyou boy and she felt a small pang in her chest as she thought of him, wondering if he was okay. He had wanted to make up and solve this together and normally she would have wanted that, too.

Kagome had learned that love like that wasn't everything. It was rather evident that their loyalty was not as solid as either of them had believed. She still faulted him for choosing Kikyo, even though he had never chosen her. He still faulted her for mistakes that were beyond her control. With a sigh she brought the shards up to her chest, her fist clenching around them as she tried hard to fight back her sad emotions. She wanted to trust in InuYasha but he made it so hard – and she made it hard for him to trust in her.

She wondered if they would ever overcome this and find peace. It would be nice to no longer harbor doubt towards one another and let their mutual affection grow into something more.

"Kagome, how many shards are left?"

His voice startled her from her thoughts and she looked back at the glowing fragments in her hand. "Around three or four, I think." She said before putting them into the small pouch she had and placing it back in its hiding space. Biting her lip she glanced forward, watching his back with a mixed expression of embarrassment and concern. She felt a little guilty for thinking about InuYasha while he was right there.

A little voice in her head that oddly sounded like Sango popped up:

And why is that, Kagome?

Shaking her head she tried to ignore the nagging voice but after 20 minutes she gave up and thought hard about her own guilt. Why did she feel guilty? It wasn't like she…

She stopped suddenly and let out a gasp, causing him to pause and turn to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Is something wrong?"

Kagome shook her head slowly, staring at him with wide eyes as if he was some giant mouse and she was the cheese. "N… no… nothing's wrong! Why would you think something is wrong?"

He just stared at her, already knowing she was lying. She sighed and forcefully turned her head away from him, crossing her arms in a huff and staring out into the woods. It was then what she needed came to her.

No, not the answer to her question finally admitted – a distraction.

"A jewel shard!" She called out, pointing deeper into the forest. He scowled at how her voice stung his ears but then turned in the direction she pointed and continued on.

They walked for some time, around 2 hours, before finally gaining some ground on the jewel shard. Kagome let out a groan as her legs burned from how long they'd been in use. Sesshomaru stopped, looking around for danger and sniffing the air for any hints as to where the shard might be. She let out a heavy sigh of relief and flopped down on the ground, rubbing at her aching legs. After she stood he started off again, never saying a word.

A few minutes later and she noticed the trees were becoming thin and the ground was becoming less stable and rougher. Was it sloping down? She followed him and then let out a cry as she lost her footing and slid down the little hill, falling right into him.

He stood there, stiff, as she rested against his back and waited for her to get up. She did, attempting to find her footing but every time she tried to walk down the hill she didn't seem able to stay upright. He let out an annoyed growl, reaching down and taking her by the hand to stabilize her. She gasped, eyes widening, but did not struggle as he led her down the path, holding her up as she threatened to fall.

When they reached the bottom of the hill, which had slowly become sandy and eventually became nothing but a beach, he released her hand quickly as if she had burned him somehow. "Where is the jewel shard?" He ground out, not looking at her.

Kagome swallowed and looked out at the ocean. There, just off the coast, was the jewel shard – it was moving. She pointed into the water. "It is in the water."

Sesshomaru's brow furrowed as he considered what she said. Great. Just great. Of all places, in the water. This was going to take forever.

The sound of her pack dropping to the ground brought his attention back to her and he watched as she ran off down the beach, running along the coast in an attempt to find some way that might give her a closer view of whatever had the jewel shard. Her hair whipped around her face with the rough ocean winds as she stopped before a large cliff which jutted out through the beach and over the water.

She followed the narrow path of sand around the side of the rock, hugging the craggy face of the stone as she finally stood over deeper waters. She pressed her body back, trying not to fall in, and stared down in the water as the waves crashed up spraying droplets all over her. "It's over here!" She called out to him, pointing down towards the water a few feet from her.

He slowly walked towards her, seeing no need to rush. Whatever it was apparently didn't care that they were there.

Or so he thought.

Suddenly, in the ruddy hues of the setting sun, a large shark could be seen coming out of the water and charging for Kagome. She screamed, hands coming up to cover her head in an attempt to protect herself.

Sesshomaru let out a loud growl and his instinct took over. In a few moments he was rushing over the water and taking the shark out with one quick blow.

Kagome stood there for a few moments, shaking and chest heaving with her breaths, before slowly moving her hands to look up. There, standing in the ocean, stood Sesshomaru… in full demon form with the shark clenched tightly between his powerful jaws. Her eyes widened. He'd lost it!

"Don't swallow the jewel shard!" She screamed up at him and the large dog stared down at her for a few moments before tossing the shark onto the shore.

She turned away from him with a small smile. He might be a big dog but he at least was a smart dog. Her eyes widened as a blush came to her face and she reached up, smacking herself lightly. As her hand came up to hit herself once more it was stopped by another. Turning slowly she looked at him and saw him staring at her, eyebrow raised in amusement at her antics. "You do not have permission to hurt yourself."

Kagome rolled her eyes at that and started to move back along the rock towards the shore when he simply pulled against her wrist, yanking her against him before he leaped out of the water and landed a few feet from the tattered remains of the shark. Pulling from him she noticed how he didn't seem to want to release her at first and wondered if he was now upset with her for the whole shark incident. He would just have to get over it. She didn't intend to apologize this time. She hadn't done anything wrong!

Reaching down she pulled the jewel shard out of the carcass and it slowly disappeared. He watched her, standing there in the red light of the setting sun and holding the glowing fragment. A smile graced her face and he inwardly groaned. Just like that human… Perseus… he'd fallen for a girl for pretty much no good reason at all. Other than she was kind of fun to rescue and beautiful when she was in danger.


	21. Day 40

_All my life, my heart has yearned for a thing I cannot name.__ – __Andre Breton _

Day 40:

The once comfortable silence between them had become oddly painful and awkward. Kagome couldn't look at him without her face going red and Sesshomaru couldn't look at her without feeling a possessive pang in his chest.

Jaken kept to himself even more lately, grumbling almost constantly. Shippo, too, was somewhat distant, unsure how to approach the adults with them behaving so oddly.

Kagome found herself staring at him more often. He found himself trying not to think about her and yet doing anything he could for her. More hot springs, comfortable place to sleep every night, fire going, and food prepared. Both of them were pretty sure they'd lost their minds. Neither one had fully admitted the truth to themselves.

Sesshomaru was busy trying to blame his instincts, assuring himself that as soon as she was gone this would all just disappear like a bad stench that had lingered too long on the air.

Kagome was busy trying to blame the events that had happened with InuYasha. She was lonely and confused and hurt, naturally she'd try to find someone to fill that gap. As soon as all this was over with she could go back to her life the way it was and nobody would have to be the wiser.

No one would have to know how she wanted to reach out and take his hand and feel his soft skin against hers again.

No one would have to know how he held himself back from teasing her just to get a rise out of her.

It would be their secret.

As if they were having a conversation instead of thinking to themselves she looked up and met his amber gaze. The air seemed to become tangible with their thoughts and she shuddered at the sensation as a light breeze came by.

They were sitting there on the beach, a fire between them, the evening long gone and the early dawn soon approaching. She found that it was impossible to sleep as he kept staring at her and so the only course of action her stupid mind could come up with was to stare right back. Way to go, mind!

He shifted closer to her, concerned that she might be cold but unable to bring himself to do much more than share a small amount of body heat.

She reached into one of her pants pockets, pulling out the jewel shards. There couldn't be that many more left. Looking to him with a questioning gaze he gave a nod and she stood, packing up and preparing to go. Sleep could wait until tomorrow. Today they would finish this so that both of them could move on with their lives.

A few hours later and they'd already collected two more jewel shards. Sesshomaru had given her an annoyed growl when she'd announced that they weren't finished yet.

Her mind raced as to where the others might be. Then her eyes widened. Of course! Kohaku and Kouga! She turned to Sesshomaru, explaining that they had to find them and retrieve their shards – that it was likely that these were the last few shards they would need to get.

Sesshomaru seemed very upset at the idea of having to deal with the wolf and so she suggested they seek out Sango's brother first. He agreed and they continued on. Surprisingly it was not difficult to find the boy.

He was wandering rather aimlessly and explained that Naraku's hold on him had been released and his minons had died rather suddenly, leaving him free to leave. Kagome sat with him and explained what had happened. He tried to be sad but he just had one question. "Did she go happy?"

Kagome's lip trembled as tears welled in her eyes and she nodded, pulling Kohaku into a hug. "Yes. She went with Miroku, who she loved very much."

He gave a nod and then turned to Sesshomaru. "I'll give you my jewel shard."

The youkai needed no more invitation and so he darted forward and slashed the child, cutting open his flesh to reveal the shard. Kagome was now sobbing as she reached in with a shaky hand and removed the shard. The boy's eyes went empty and he fell to the ground in a heap.

Sesshomaru closed his eyes and looked away, unable to stomach the sight. It was too much like Rin.

Kagome wanted to perform a burial for the boy but Sesshomaru had disagreed. He explained that the child was only temporarily dead and that there was no point to waste their time and energy any longer.

He watched as her face twitched before she cracked and marched up to him, finger jabbing into his chest. "Listen here! We are going to bury Kohaku right now or I'm not taking another step!"

His eyes tightened and he glared down at her before a slight smirk formed on his lips and he reached down, taking her hand and giving it a light tug. She toppled forward, taking a couple steps towards him and he raised an eyebrow knowingly.

Her face flushed and she let out an annoyed cry before turning and crossing her arms, left foot tapping.

With a sigh Sesshomaru looked to Jaken. "Bury the boy."

Jaken sputtered and frowned but did as he was told. Kagome was only partially pleased but knew that was the most she was going to get out of him right now. He didn't understand why this was important to her.

Hours later and there was a mound over the dead child. Shippo came up with a large rock and they placed it on top. Kagome said a prayer before turning towards Sesshomaru, but not looking at him. "Thank you."

He nodded before turning away and continuing on, feeling rather triumphant at her thanks.

It was just barely evening, the moon and the sun both hanging equally in the sky on their opposing sides, when they found the wolf boy.

Kouga ran up to Kagome with a relieved smile and took her up into his arms, twirling her about. She let out a small laugh but both stopped at the angry growl coming from the intimidating figure behind them. He set her down with a lopsided grin and took her hands up. "I was so worried about you, Kagome! All of the humans have gone mad and died from some sort of evil curse! I had thought you might have, too, when I didn't find you."

She found that odd. He'd been looking for her but couldn't find her? He sniffed the air around her. "I see." He said, looking to Sesshomaru pointedly before looking back to her.

Kagome looked between them with confusion. "You see what?"

"You smell like Lord Sesshomaru." Kouga said as if that was no big deal.

Her eyes widened and then she scared the nearby birds with her scream, causing both of the youkai to flinch. "WHAT?" Her mind raced. Why would she… the bath! Turning she glared at the silver haired lord before mumbling under her breath. "You did this on purpose…"

He raised an eyebrow and then, surprising her, gave a nod. He had done it on purpose. She didn't honestly think he enjoyed taking a bath with Jaken, did she?

"Kagome…" Kouga's voice brought her back to him. "Now that the human world is ending are you ready to be my woman?"

He said it so seriously that the girl's eyes widened as she wondered if he realized how crazy he sounded. She could just imagine some love letter from him: Dear Kagome, The world as you know it is over. Come be my woman. Love, Kouga.

Before she could laugh at how silly it all was she heard an angry growl from behind her and then she was being pulled back against a hard chest, her head hitting armor painfully.

Kouga frowned and looked between Kagome and Sesshomaru. She only smelled of him because he'd marked her as part of his pack but she wasn't his mate – she hadn't been anyone's mate. She still held the scent of a virgin on her. He let out a laugh. "My how the powerful have fallen." He said, trying to bait Sesshomaru. "I guess you're more like your father than anyone would have thought, Lord Sesshomaru." The way he said "lord" caused Kagome's stomach to do flips. Absently she wondered just how many knew of how Inu no Taisho had left his youkai mate, Sesshomaru's mother, to bed with a human woman, InuYasha's mother. Her mind suddenly stopped her train of thought and it derailed with the realization of what Kouga was implying.

She looked up to Sesshomaru who was still clutching her tightly while growling at Kouga. He hadn't taken the bait, which didn't surprise her much, but he hadn't let go of her either. She blinked for a few times, trying hard to digest this. Was he in love with her?

It couldn't be possible. He'd not done anything to show he was, anyway. She thought over what she knew of love and relationships. Boys in love were nice to the girls they liked, even if they were a little rough around the edges. They brought them gifts and tried to show off for them. Her mind trailed off then as her jaw dropped and her eyes widened even further, if that was at all possible.

Shaking her head she took control of herself before turning to look at Kouga with a small smile. "Sesshomaru is just helping me out. We need your jewel shards to help return things the way they were."

Kouga frowned and crossed his arms. He didn't like the idea of giving up his jewel shards but he also didn't like the idea of saying no to her. If they really were just companions why was Sesshomaru still clinging to her? He looked away from her then. "I don't mind if all the humans die off. So long as I have you, none of that matters."

She sighed and lowered her head. "Kouga, please. If I don't get those jewel shards – I won't be born."

His eyes widened. What did she mean she wouldn't be born? Looking to her he saw that she wasn't lying and with a grumble reached down, pulling the jewel shards out of his legs with a grunt before tossing them at her. "Fine, but when dog-breath's brother drives you crazy don't forget that I am here." He said with a grin.

Kagome smiled and inwardly rolled her eyes but she just nodded. Sesshomaru pulled her tighter at that and she gave a sigh. She pushed away from him gently and he released her, still glaring at the wolf who was giving him a knowing smirk. She kneeled down, taking up the jewel shards and combining them with the others.

Suddenly there was a flash of light and she looked away for a moment before looking up to see the completed Shikon floating there, her arrow still through it. She reached up towards it and it spoke. "What is it that you wish?"

Her hand stopped in mid-air and she looked to Sesshomaru with a sad smile. His eyes met with hers and he gave her a firm nod. This was how it should be, after all.

Looking back to the jewel she swallowed before she spoke. "Shikon Jewel, I wish for the disease which caused all humans to turn into the living undead never existed!"

"As you wish."


	22. Day 1

_When the gods wish to punish us they answer our prayers.__ – __Oscar Wilde _

Day 1:

She woke with a start, sitting up in her bed suddenly. A gentle breeze wafted into her room and she sighed. Standing she quickly went out, racing down the stairs and into the main of the house. The front door was open. A pot was bubbling on the kitchen stove. It was a beautiful day, partly cloudy with a 30% chance of precipitation.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

She slowly left the house, hearing scuffling from around the corner. Cautiously she made her way around the house, noting that the sound was coming from inside the closed well house. Taking a deep breath she set her jaw and went forward, reaching up a shaking hand to slide the door open to reveal her mother.

Her mother smiled at her, holding onto Buyo gently. "Oh, thank you, Kagome! I think the door stuck! I couldn't get out after I'd come in to get Buyo!"

Tears welled in her eyes and she threw herself at her mother, wrapping her arms around her. It was all okay. It was all back to normal.

Her mother returned the hug before letting her go and stepping around her to go towards the house. "Be home in time for dinner!" She called, knowing somehow what was going to happen next.

Kagome stood there, arms still out. If the Shikon had truly returned things to the time they were – why did she remember everything?

Her eyes widened and she stared down the steps at the well. Then she was running and she launched herself into the well, falling through and allowing the magic to overtake her. As she climbed up the walls a clawed hand reached out for her and she gratefully took it, being pulled up by the amber eyed boy.

InuYasha smiled at her. "Took you long enough! I don't get why you needed to go on vacation anyway!"

She stood there on the edge of the well, held in his arms, and tried to fight the deep sadness that formed in her heart. It's InuYasha! Your InuYasha! A little voice tried to remind her. Looking away from him she felt her stomach become heavy at the realization that he was not hers and she was not his anymore.

Her eyes darted around and the hanyou frowned, ears drooping. "What are you looking for?" He asked, looking around to see that absolutely nothing was there.

She let out a sigh and shook her head. "Nothing." Then she decided that enough was enough and she'd just pick herself up and move on. She was good at that! Looking up at him with a small smile she gave him a light hug. "I was just checking something. I'm not done with my vacation so I'll be back later."

His frown deepend into a scowl as his hands came up in defiant fists. "What? Kagome! We have work to do! You can't go off and play!"

Closing her eyes her brow twitched and as she allowed herself to fall back into the well she laughed before calling out to him. "InuYasha, sit!"

From above Sesshomaru watched the scene with amusement. She would return, she said, and he would be here when she did.

_**~*FIN*~**_


End file.
